REV. DR. YAKUBU PAM APPRECIATE GOD FOR A SUCCESSFUL 2 YEARS IN OFFICE AT NCPC

Today as I celebrate my 2nd year in office, my prayers and sympathy goes to the family of innocent souls nation wide, who lost their life in this past few years.

I recall with nostalgia and great excitement the very first day I assumed office on 7thJuly, 2020 as the third substantive Executive Secretary of this great Commission, following my appointment by President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR on 26th June, 2020.

I want to first and foremost thank the Almighty God for this appointment and as well appreciate Mr. President for finding me worthy and deserving to superintend over the affairs of NCPC at a time like this.

Indeed, it is a known fact that I assumed office at a most challenging time in the history of the Commission, the world and pilgrimage in particular.

My assumption of office was at the most challenging time because then, the world stood still for the ravaging and most dreaded COVID-19 global pandemic which destabilized all facets of human endeavour.

Of course, as you all know, the primary mandate of NCPC is to organize, coordinate and superintend over the affairs of Christian Pilgrimage in Nigeria by supervising the movement of Nigerian Christians to the Holy Sites around the world, but the restrictions placed on international travels by the global pandemic affected the Commission adversely and even our sister agency- the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria so much so that pilgrimage activities were hampered globally.

These were the situations I met on ground when i took over the helm of affairs on 7th July, 2020.

It is often said that in every adversity there is always an equal opportunity. The predicament posed by the COVID-19 pandemic compelled us to think outside the box by exploring new alternatives for our pilgrimage activities.

Therefore, in 2021 we carried out a thorough examination of our enabling Act which empowers us as a Commission to carry out our pilgrimage activities to the Holy Sites around the world. Since Israel borders were shut down against international pilgrims, the need to explore other pilgrimage destinations became imperative.

To all intends and purposes, our discovering of Jordan and eventual prosecution of our maiden pilgrimage there was not without challenges.

Be that as it may, we were able to embark on our first ever pilgrimage to the Kingdom of Jordan between 24th July, 2021 and September, 2021.

We were able to succeed because God was on our side and we were focused and determined to change the narrative.

Today, we can safely say that the NCPC maiden pilgrimage to Jordan was no doubt a big success and has been adjudged one of the finest outings of the Commission in the last decade as no single abscondment was recorded.

By this fact, the Commission has officially incorporated Jordan as a new pilgrimage destination.

The Commission will continue to explore more Holy Sites in the world so as to provide alternatives for Nigerian Pilgrims in order to enable them perform their pilgrimage obligations at any Holy Sites in the world.

In this connection, I was in Turkiye in January this year where I met with Turkiye officials and visited some of their holy Sites. It is our plan to include Turkey in our pilgrimage programme in the nearest future.

It is therefore interesting to note that with two years of being in the saddle, the Commission has been able to carry out its maiden 2020 pilgrimage exercise to the Kingdom of Jordan and the 2021 Main/Easter pilgrimage 2022 exercise to Israel and Jordan on 15th June, 2022 and will be rounding off in August this year.

It is instructive to state here that the Commission in synergy with the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha with some Directors of the Commission appeared before the Federal Executive Council, FEC on 23rd March, 2022 with a memo to seek for approval for the construction of the Pilgrims Heritage Camp House situated at the high brawl Central Business District, Abuja.

This project is taken seriously by this administration as it would serve multifarious purposes after completion.

To the Glory of God, FEC graciously approved the Commission’s request of for the execution and completion of the NCPC Pilgrims Heritage Camp House.

Again, it needs to stressed that this was the first time ever in the history of the Commission that a memo of such was sent to FEC for consideration and approval.

We are not unmindful of the current challenges we face as a nation in the area of the economy and security. However, I am optimistic that with God on our side we shall certainly overcome these challenges.

We on our part shall continue to use pilgrimage to foster unity in the land and as a veritable tool for moral transformation.

I want to use this medium to thank profusely our supervising body the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, OSGF for their support these two years I have been in charge of the Commission, without them, we would not have been able to achieve much.

I want to also appreciate some of our pilgrimage friendly Governors for helping to advance the cause of Christian Pilgrimage in their respective States.

Our strategic partners such as the Ground Handlers and the Air Carriers have done marvelously well these two years that I been navigating the waters of Christian pilgrimage in Nigeria. I appreciate them greatly.

The Media has been very forthcoming when it comes to the reportage of the Commission’s activities. The Media has helped in ensuring maximum exposure of the Commission’s activities these two years of my service to this nation.

Thank you all.

God Bless Nigerian Christian Pilgrim Commission 

And may God Bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria 🇳🇬