The Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Christian Pilgrim Commission (NCPC) Mr.John Kennedy Opara has said that the major goal of the Commission is to ensure that people who travel on Pilgrimage experience moral and spiritual transformation, which goes a long way in accelerating the transformational agenda of the government which also helps in building the Nation. The NCPC boss disclosed this recently in Abuja during an interactive session with the media.Mr. John Opara further explained that in line with the calendar of activities approved by Mr President, the Commission is working earnestly to ensure a hitch-free pilgrimage exercise this year and also ensure the safety and comfort of pilgrims.He averred that the commission was working closely with the stake holders and the states to ensure that pilgrimage exercise ended within the same calendar year without any undue delay as experienced in the past.He equally used the platform provided by the interactive session to clarify the issue of government sponsorship of pilgrim. According to him, the Federal Government only sponsored medical personnel and consular to accompany pilgrims to the Holy Land. He stressed that the pilgrimage exercise was the only activity in the country that involved massive movement of people out of the shores of Nigeria and it is the responsibility of government to ensure the welfare of its citizenry.On the issue of sensitisation of intending pilgrims for the 2012 pilgrimage exercise, the NCPC helmsman affirmed that the commission had commenced the sensitisation of intending Pilgrims across the states of the federation.The ES further urged Christians and church leaders to sponsor Christians to the Holy Land, saying that 'Pilgrimage should be for those who are materially poor but spiritually rich,' added that the Commission had devised a means whereby intending pilgrims who are not financially buoyant could pay in instalments.Opara also stated that the commission had introduced two pilgrimages in one year; the Easter period, which is March to April and the Christmas period which is October to December.He further revealed that the commission had introduced local content to its operation through the involvement of three Nigeria indigenous ground handlers to work with Israeli authorities to stimulate growth. In another development, the commission has created a new department of marketing, with Mr Isaac Otuorimou, a deputy director to oversees the day-to-day activities of the department.The creation of the department is in line with the new vision of the commission.While handing over six members of staff of the new department to God in a prayer session at the NCPC corporate Headquarters in Abuja recently, the Executive Secretary of NCPC, Mr John Kennedy Opara, charged them to demonstrate high level of integrity, commitment and efficiency in their new assignment.He pointed out that their deployment to the new department was purely on merit and that God had selected them as pioneer staff of the new department out of many to serve the Commission in this new capacity.The ES further advised them to put God first in their new assignment if they must make the desired impact in the quest for increased self sponsorship of pilgrims by the commission. He affirmed that the onus of increasing the total numbers of pilgrims yearly by the commission now rested on them as the department was expected to superintend and coordinate all marketing activities of the commissionThe NCPC helmsman assured the new team of the marketing department that the Commission would give the new department all the support needed to perform and excel.
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