967 Rivers indigenes for Christians pilgrimage

The screening which took place at the office of the state Christian Pilgrim Welfare Board (CPWB), State Secretariat complex, took four days. Out of the 967 intending pilgrims that were screened, 925 were recommended and 42 left out. In his welcome address, the Sole Administrator of the CPWB, Monsignor John Wangbu commended the Executive Secretary […]

The screening which took place at the office of the state Christian Pilgrim Welfare Board (CPWB), State Secretariat complex, took four days.

Out of the 967 intending pilgrims that were screened, 925 were recommended and 42 left out. In his welcome address, the Sole Administrator of the CPWB, Monsignor John Wangbu commended the Executive Secretary of NCPC, Mr John Kennedy Opara for sending a team for the screening exercise.

He promised that his board would not interfere with the exercise as the decision of the screening panel is final.

Pilgrims not recommended was due to their inability to provide substantial job evidence, income source, reliable guarantor and their e-passport at the time of the exercise.

Meanwhile, the commission will soon introduce a Monitoring Index Mechanism for Pilgrims.

According to Opara, “That time has come when the life style and conduct of those who performed pilgrimage exercise should serve as a testimony to others and also encourage government to sponsor more intending pilgrims if those already sponsored are agents of transformational change.”

He supported the move by the Benue State Christian Pilgrim Welfare Board (BSCPWB) to champion the formation of a Post Pilgrimage Forum in the north-central to help harness the importance of pilgrimage and its positive impacts on the lives of the people.

On security, he said it should not be taken for granted as he urged all to be fervent in prayers.

BSCPWB chairman, Rev Kwaghbea Nyam thanked the NCPC boss for gracing their inauguration ceremony in Makurdi last month.

He stressed that the board in conjunction with other state Christian Pilgrim Welfare Boards in the north-central will introduce a Post Pilgrimage Forum be cause “this is borne out of the need to derive true dividend from pilgrimage”.

In another Development, the NCPC boss, met with officials of the Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi of Rome in his office.

He assured that he would not “compromise with the standards we give to Nigerian people”.

He told the officials of the leading travel and tour agency that the theme of this year’s pilgrimage is “Pilgrimage as a tool for moral and Spiritual Transformation” adding that when people are morally and spiritually transformed, they help to contribute to the positive development of the country.

Opara advised the company to explore more Holy Sites so that pilgrims will have a variety of places to visit when in Rome and the Vatican.

In his response, Chief Executive Officer of Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi, Rev Fr Caesar Atoire the first African to serve as CEO of the agency said his company is concerned about the spiritual quality of pilgrims, thus he has published a compendium on pilgrimage in Italian Language.

He promised that the book will be translated to English Language for Nigerian Pilgrims.

The meeting served as an opportunity to x-ray the challenges and way forward of the collaboration between the two organizations towards a successful pilgrimage exercise to Rome and Greece.

The company handles pilgrimage operations for NCPC in Rome, Vatican and Greece.