Teams of officials from the Federal and Lagos State Government have visited holy lands of Israel and Jordan to ascertain the safety of these locations before arrival of the intending pilgrims for this year’s religious exercise.
The previsit retreat to the holy land was to inspect the locations for accommodations and holy sites to be visited during the forthcoming pilgrimage, to ensure it is safe for them to attend.
Aside from that, the delegation embarked on the journey to demonstrate to intending pilgrims that the holy land is free for pilgrimage purposes.
Visits to the holy land of Israel and Jordan was organised by the Federal Government through its Nigeria Christian Pilgrim Commission (NCPC), as part of efforts to ensure a hitch-free pilgrimage in 2024.
The previsit retreat team was led by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, Lolade Aina, the Board Secretary of the Lagos State Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board, Yetunde Gbafe, the Special Adviser on Christian Religious Matters, Bukola Adeleke, and members of the Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board led by Prof. Rufus Oguntuase.
In a statement released by the Board Secretary, Lagos State Christian Pilgrimage Welfare Board (LSCPWB), Yetunde Gbafe, who stressed that the pre-visit exercise was crucial before commencement of pilgrims airlifting.
She said, “We have gone ahead to inspect the accommodation and sites to be visited during the forthcoming pilgrimage. It is important to have a first hand information about the safety and security of the holy lands in order to reassure intending pilgrims of their safety and well-being while on pilgrimage.”
“The previsit retreat is also aimed at making adequate arrangements for a hitch-free yet a spiritually regenerating pilgrimage exercise and also an opportunity to make adequate preparation for logistics with ground handlers and to secure comfortable hotels amongst others”.
Gbafe further stated that there were plans to explore Israel’s agricultural technologies to enrich the Christian pilgrimage programmes and provide additional knowledge and value for the Pilgrims.
The 2024 Easter pilgrimage to Israel and Jordan has been scheduled to take place in June 2024.
