This was announced in a statement on Thursday, signed by Abdullahi Mukhtar Muhammad, despite the optimism expressed by the Saudi Arabian ambassador to Nigeria.
The ambassador, Mr. Khaled Abdrabuh, had earlier stated that the controversy over the detention of 908 female Nigerian pilgrims in Saudi Arabia and the deportation of some will be resolved later today.
According to the statement, the Hajj Commission claimed it has been "compelled to temporarily suspend all Hajj flights for the next 48 hours", "following the unprecedented and worrisome development of detaining over 1000 female pilgrims from Nigeria at the King Abdulazeez International Airport Jeddah and Prince Muhammad Ibn azeez International Airport Madinah."
The Commission claimed it is taking this step after wide consultation with all stakeholders.
"This is to enable the Commission appraise the situation critically with the view to surmount all the challenges being faced" the statement added.
The Hajj Commission urged "all intending pilgrims to remain calm as all hands are on deck to resolve the issue and hajj flights will resume once resolved."
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