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| Executive Secretary, NCPC, Mr. John Kennedy Opara |
The Federal Government has announced that the cost of Christian
pilgrimage for intending pilgrims in 2013 would be 12 per cent lesser
compared to the last year's rates.
The Executive Secretary of the National Christian Pilgrims Commission
(NCPC), Mr. John Kennedy Opara, said this at the weekend in Abuja, while
unveiling the commission's package for the 2013 pilgrimage programme.
Opara also said President Goodluck Jonathan had approved an exchange
rate of N148 to $1, adding that the pilgrimage operation would commence
on October 28 and December 28.
According to him, the government is bringing down the cost of
pilgrimage to N358,000 as against N406,150 paid in 2012, pilgrims who
would visit Greece or Rome will enjoy 20 per cent rate slash from
N529,440 in 2012 to N421 609 in 2013, while special pilgrims will enjoy 9
per cent rate slash from N400.425 in 2012 to N365, 425 this year.
He also said intending pilgrims were expected to have maximum of $1000
as Personal Travel Allowance (PTA) for those visiting Greece or Rome,
while others were expected to have a maximum $750 and a minimum of $50.
This, according to him, was essentially to restrict pilgrims to the duties of pilgrimage.
"It is a holy pilgrimage, not a funfair," he said.
He noted that the commission was working hard to make pilgrimage affordable to every Nigerian Christian, adding that the commission would in the next five years be self-sustaining.
Speaking on the security situation in Senai, Opara said the commission
was making arrangement with the Nigerian Embassy in Egypt on the best
way to handle the situation.
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