The Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission has announced plans to airlift 10,000 Christians for this year’s December pilgrimage to Jordan and Turkey. The exercise, set to commence on December 22, will last for 10 days.
Each pilgrim paid N3 million for the journey, amounting to N30 billion from the Nigerian contingent.
According to The PUNCH, the Executive Secretary of the NCPC, Bishop Stephen Adegbite, disclosed this in a text message response to inquiries on Sunday.
“There are 10,000 pilgrims for now. Each pilgrim paid N3 million, and the pilgrimage is for 10 days,” Adegbite confirmed.
The December pilgrimage is the first to take place in 2024, following repeated delays earlier in the year.
Initially scheduled for March, the Easter pilgrimage to Israel and Jordan was canceled, with plans for the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, to lead the contingent postponed.
Despite earlier assurances in April that the pilgrimage would begin by June, the event faced further setbacks, including a hike in costs to N4.8 million in May, though no official commencement date was provided at the time.
Responding to doubts about the pilgrimage in October, Adegbite insisted it would still take place before the year’s end. “Who says the pilgrimage will not be held this year? Is this year over? The main pilgrimage is usually from November to January, and sometimes rolls over to February,” he said.
The NCPC has now confirmed that the airlift will begin as scheduled, with the pilgrims set to visit significant religious sites in Jordan and Turkey.
In an earlier statement, Celestine Toruka, the commission’s Deputy Director and Head of Media and Public Relations, reaffirmed that preparations were on track, saying, “The Nigerian Christian Pilgrim Commission is set to commence the airlift of intending pilgrims to the Holy Land on 22nd December 2024.”
The pilgrims are expected to return to Nigeria after their 10-day spiritual journey.
