By Ebriku John Friday
The Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Christian Pilgrim Commission, Rev Yakubu Pam has disclosed that the Commission has approved the Kingdom of Jordan as one of its pilgrimage destination nations. He made this known when he paid courtesy visit to the Minister of Tourism and Antiques, His Excellency Mr. Nayef Alfayez at the Ministry of Tourism and Antiques, Amman, Jordan.
Rev. Pam explained that the Federal Government of Nigeria had saddled the Commission with the responsibility of taking Christian Pilgrims to the Holy Sites Around the world. In his words, “the Commission in past had three pilgrimage destinations which is Israel, Rome and Greece but now Jordan has been officially added to our pilgrimage destinations, this is only possible because you opened your doors to us”.
The NCPC boss thanked the Minister for all the support and co-operation the Jordanian Government had accorded them to ensure a hitch free pilgrimage exercise especially in the area of visa procurement. According to him, “ every promise you made to us in the area of Visa procurement you kept to your words and we are grateful”.
He further thanked his host for the red carpet reception the Jordanian Government accorded the first batch of Nigeria Pilgrims who arrived Jordan on the 25th of July, 2021. In his words, “the reception you gave us was overwhelming, we saw another Nigeria in Jordan because we felt at home”.
The NCPC helmsman informed that the first and second batch of Pilgrims who came to Jordan had arrived Nigeria and their testimonies about their pilgrimage experiences was great.
He affirmed that a new bilateral relationship has been established between Nigeria and the Kingdom of Jordan. According to him, Nigeria is open to learn from Jordan in the area of information technology and agriculture because according to him, “ I believe that Nigeria has so much learn from Jordan and Jordan has alot to learn from Nigeria, too”.
In his response, the Minister of Tourism and Antiques, Mr. Nayef Alfayez thanked the Executive Secretary and his team for their visit. He commended the Nigeria Government and the NCPC boss for considering the Holy sites in Jordan as a viable pilgrimage destination.
Mr. Alfayez explained that the greatest value they have cherished as a nation is the peaceful co-existence between the Christians and the Muslims. In his words “ we work together as brother and we accept each other not minding our religious differences”.
He informed that the Jordanian Government and the Ministry of Tourism will do everything possible for NCPC to experience a hitch free and a successful pilgrimage exercise. In his words, “we are ready to clear any obstacle to make this year’s pilgrimage exercise great”.
The Minister commended the pilgrims for conducting themselves well. According to him,” we have received good reports on the pilgrims that have come to the Holy land so far”.
In his remarks, the Nigerian Ambassador to Jordan, His Excellency, Amb. Faruk Yabo thanked the Minister of Tourism and Antiques for their cooperation and support to this success of this pilot scheme pilgrimage. In his words, this has created an unprecedented momentum because any nation that is receptive to pilgrims is blessed”.
He solicited for more cooperation in the area of visas procurement to afford more Nigerians the opportunity to visit Jordan and to strengthen the bilateral relationship between the two countries.
The courtesy call was witnessed by Chairman House Committee on pilgrimage Affairs, Hon. Abubakar Nalaraba, NCPC Federal Commissioners, Executive Secretary of Lagos, Osun and Ondo Christian Pilgrims Welfare Boards, among others.
