The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Christian Pilgrim Commission (NCPC), Bishop Stephen Adegbite, has emphasised that prayer “is the real essence of pilgrimage.”
According to a press statement issued by the Commission’s Head of Media and Public Relations, Celestine Toruka, the NCPC boss said this Thursday during the airlift of the 13th and last batch of intending Christian pilgrims to Israel and Jordan at the Pilgrims Wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
Bishop Adegbite, represented by the Director of Administration of NCPC, Barr Sonny Ebiyaibo, urged the intending pilgrims to pray fervently at the various Holy Sites, adding that “prayer is key to a successful pilgrimage exercise.”
He enjoined the pilgrims to pray for those in authority in Nigeria and for the well-being of the country and its citizens.
“You should see yourselves as true representatives of Nigeria in the Holy Land, irrespective of your state of origin. You are all ambassadors of Nigeria in the Holy Land,” he said.
In his remarks, the Board member representing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Martin Adamu, urged the intending pilgrims to use the pilgrimage to renew their faith in God and return spiritually fulfilled.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Police Affairs, Dr. Anuma Nlia, who was also an intending pilgrim, commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his overwhelming support for the NCPC, “which has enabled the Commission to successfully airlift pilgrims from the first to the last batch.”
Among the intending pilgrims was the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Mrs. Daju Kachollom.
Over 350 intending pilgrims made up the last batch, which are expected to return to Nigeria on March 30, 2025.