The Executive Director of the Nigerian Christain Pilgrims Commission, Reverend Yakubu Pam has said the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip won’t affect this year’s pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
He gave this assurance while addressing the third batch of pilgrims who arrived Abuja, from various states on Monday that the first flight scheduled for Tuesday night is going ahead as scheduled.
He said, “We have faith but we are not replicating Daniel’s entry into the lion’s den; the Federal Government is monitoring the situation and we are in touch with Israeli authorities so we are quite optimistic.
“A private group of 70 Nigerian Christian Pilgrims just arrived Israel today (Monday) and a batch from Lagos state is returning aboard an Ethiopian Airlines aircraft, the third and last batch for the year will leave on Tuesday night and arrive Jordan the following morning; thus far, there is no cause for anxieties and authorities in both Jordan and Israel are in touch with us.
“Those who genuinely feel some anxieties should note that the ongoing conflict is around Gaza in the very southern part of Israel but all the places that Christian pilgrims visit are in the northern parts of Israel; we now have clean records of no abscondment and pilgrims use the opportunity to collectively pray for Nigeria,” Pam stated.
Rev. Pam disclosed that the Federal Government, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and NCPC have been monitoring the situation in Israel, adding that a final decision on planned visit to Israel would be taken after three days’ tour of holy sites of the Old Testament era in Jordan.
Vanguard gathered that he announced that the Federal Government and authorities in both Israel and Jordan now emphatically confront the issue of absconding pilgrims.
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