The Nasarawa state Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board (NCPWB) has disclosed that the state government has paid N67million to sponsor 100 Christians of the state for the 2017 pilgrims to holy land.
The Executive Secretary of the Board, Barr. Musa Aloko, made this known during the Maiden press briefing on the state of readiness of Nasarawa state Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board on 2017 pilgrimage.
Aloko appreciated Gov. Al-makura, for the prompt payment of the pilgrim’s fees, adding that it would go a long way in promoting religion activities as well as peace in the state.
He added that the five pilgrims who paid for last year pilgrimage but could not perform due to late submission of forms will participate this year, thereby bringing the total to 105 pilgrims approved by the state government to perform 2017 Christians pilgrimage.
According to him, “Our primary mission therefore is to light up the skyline with true testimony of Christ with fundamental objective of bridging religious intolerance in the state and the country at large as we intend to use pilgrimage as a tool for uniting the Nigerian people to make impact and to make the content of Christian pilgrimage effective.
“The flag off of this year’s 2017 pilgrimage have been set down for 19th November, 2017 in Gombe, Gombe state. It is the conscious efforts of the Nasarawa state Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board that the state pilgrims should be amongst the first three to depart Nigeria’s soil for spiritual diet.
“Pilgrimage thus deals with the movement of the word of God, from its roots in Jerusalem, to many places in the world that has increased but spreads out to critical spiritual sites and locations and the world including Greece, Rome, Italy, Turkey Cyprus, Germany, United Kingdom, Ethiopia, Portugal, Jordan among others.
“It is a blessing to be on the spiritual blessing but a gift to be part of the physical pilgrimage which is to biblical sites around the world as it is incumbent for every Nigerian Christian to go on pilgrimage at least once in a life time,” he said
Aloko promised not to fail while discharging his duties, assuring that he would add value of the governance especially in the area of preaching peaceful co-existence among the people of the state and Nigerians at large.
