Kaduna state yesterday witnessed its first ever airlift of Christian pilgrims from the state to Israel to perform holy pilgrimage.
The airlift was witnessed by Governor Mukhtar Ramalan Yero who led other top officials of the government to bid the intending pilgrims farewell as they departed the state for Israel.
Speaking at the farewell ceremony, he he said the present administration in the state had increased the number of Christian pilgrims being sponsored by the state from 468 in 2013 to 567 in 2014 representing 19 per cent increase.
He said the state government was committed to ensuring that all sections of the state are treated fairly, adding that they are determined to improve the wellbeing of the people at all times and they would remain unbiased in providing support to the people.
The governor also cautioned the pilgrims to be good ambassadors of the country while in the Holy Land.
“You must not indulge in any action capable of tarnishing the image of Kaduna state and Nigeria. I urge you to use the period of the holy pilgrimage to pray for peace in the country, especially as we approach the 2015 general elections,” he said.
Yero congratulated the pilgrims for the opportunity to embark on the divine assignment and he prayed for their safe return from Israel at the end of the pilgrimage.
Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission, Mr. John Kennedy Opara, praised the governor for his support to the Christian pilgrimage exercise in the state.
He said it was through the governor’s commitment that Kaduna state intending pilgrims “can now fly to Israel directly from Kaduna for the first time since inception of the pilgrimage.”
