12,890 performed 2014 pilgrimage –CAN

 

The Federal Government’s delegation to the 2014 Christian pilgrimage to Israel has said 12,890 pilgrims participated in the exercise with 45 per cent of them being self-sponsored.

The 10-man delegation, led by the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, made the disclosure while submitting the report to President Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday at the Presidential Villa.

The delegation called for the adequate funding of the embassies of

Nigeria in Rome, Greece and Tel Aviv to enable them assist the handling of pilgrims.

Meanwhile, President Jonathan after receiving the report dissolved the 2014 Federal Government delegation to Israel and Rome, saying it would be reconstituted soon.

Highlighting some of the recommendations made in the report, Oritsejafor said individuals sponsored most of the pilgrims from the North, while others sponsored themselves.

He said the report also recommended that governments at the state and local levels should be encouraged to sponsor people of the Christian faith to the holy land, especially as the commission was using the pilgrimage as a tool for moral and spiritual transformation.

Pastor Oritsejafor urged the Federal Government to continue to provide necessary support to the commission to further enhance its services to the Christian community, adding that the Greece aspect of the pilgrimage be expanded to encourage greater participation in the programme.

Also, he urged the Federal Government to assist in developing the pilgrim camps, which had been provided for Christians at the major airports to alleviate the current challenges suffered at the airports.