Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board (CPWB) has said that airlifting of intending pilgrims for the Easter celebration will commence in February to the Holy Land.
The board also said the screening of intending pilgrims will commence on Wednesday, January 17, 2024, adding that application forms for the journey are presently on sale for intending pilgrims.
The acting director of the FCT Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board, Mrs Rahila Isa-Baita, who made this known to journalists in Abuja said that the screening process will last for three days, while the visa processing will take about three weeks and airlifting of pilgrims will take place in February.
“We have commenced the sales of forms of the Easter pilgrimage, and intending pilgrims may have the opportunity to travel to Jordan or Turkey. We have a lot of seats are provided for FCT residents by the National Pilgrims Commission (NPC), but because of the issue of funds, those seats are not filled, mostly in December.
“To help us meet the demands of the FCT residents, the government and Christian organisations should sponsor more people to pilgrimage. Because the issue of funds is affecting the board. When we have funds, we as members of staff can go anywhere to sensitise people on the importance of pilgrimage.
“Also, private organisations can also sponsor people, just like how private organisations sponsor Muslims to pilgrimage, the Christians are lacking in that area,” she said.
Isa-Baita also appealed to Churches and private organisations to come under the umbrella of the Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board to collaborate with them and run the pilgrimage together, to meet the demands of FCT residents in terms of pilgrimage exercises.
“The issue of churches sponsoring their members alone is affecting the board seriously. In the Muslims, pilgrimage is one, and all the mosques come under their pilgrims umbrella.
“But, here, the churches interfere in our activities, and this is a government establishment in charge of pilgrimage. It is proper that any Christian going on pilgrimage residing in the FCT should do that under this establishment. Because we are organised and the government is aware of our activities,” she said.
The acting director, while speaking on the benefits of pilgrimage to the nation’s economy, explained that on return, pilgrims after pilgrimage, experience total spiritual re- engineering and are better equipped spiritually to relate with others and affect their immediate environment positively.
