Our Correspondent Abuja
The Nigerian Christian Pilgrim Commission (NCPC) has fired the opening salvo for the 2025 Main Pilgrimage to Israel and Jordan, formally launching its nationwide screening exercise with a strong message of assurance, discipline, and preparedness for thousands of intending Christian pilgrims.
The flag-off ceremony, held in Ikeja, Lagos, on 27 November 2025, brought together officials, medical teams, security agencies, and eager pilgrims from across the state, all undergoing rigorous checks designed to ensure a safe, seamless, and spiritually fulfilling journey to the Holy Lands.
Executive Secretary of NCPC, Bishop Professor Stephen Adegbite, set the tone for the exercise with a firm declaration: “There is peace in Israel, and you will be safe.”
He said the Commission had verified security conditions in Israel and Jordan and remained confident that the 2025 pilgrimage would proceed without risk.
Adegbite underscored that the medical screening was not a formality but a critical safeguard to assess each pilgrim’s health status before departure.
The exercise, he noted, reflects a global best practice for international religious travel and forms part of the Commission’s heightened vigilance this year.
In what many in the audience described as a rare acknowledgment, the NCPC boss praised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for what he called “unprecedented support” for both Christian and Muslim pilgrimages insisting no President in Nigeria’s history had given such robust backing.
He urged intending pilgrims to continue praying for the success of the Renewed Hope Agenda, describing it as pivotal to national stability and prosperity.
But perhaps the strongest signal from the NCPC was its renewed war against abscondment — a persistent challenge in past pilgrimages.
Bishop Adegbite reaffirmed the Commission’s zero-tolerance stance, revealing that new mechanisms, security collaborations, and monitoring systems had been deployed to ensure “zero abscondment” during the 2025 pilgrimage.
“We have put every necessary measure in place,” he said. “This year, nobody will abscond. It will not be allowed.”
For Lagos State pilgrims, the importance of the screening exercise was further emphasised by Dr. Omoniyi Okudero, Board Secretary of the Lagos State Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board.
He described the exercise as a crucial double-layered process medical and administrative designed to ensure that only healthy, properly documented pilgrims join the airlift to Israel and Jordan.
According to him, the screening is being conducted jointly with NCPC, security agencies, medical experts, and government institutions responsible for verifying travel documents and preparing pilgrims for the spiritual journey ahead.
“The screening helps us identify medical needs and equip the medical team with the appropriate medications,” Okudero said.
He also reminded pilgrims to strictly adhere to the laws and cultural expectations of the Holy Lands, urging them to represent Lagos and Nigeria with dignity.
With the 2025 pilgrimage cycle now officially underway, NCPC officials say the Commission is more prepared than ever armed with improved systems, stronger government backing, and a clearer mandate to ensure safety, orderliness, and spiritual impact.
