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Imo govt explains approval of 1,000 pilgrims to Israel, Jordan

By Charles Ogugbuaja, Owerri
12 April 2023   |   3:50 am
Amid criticisms, the Imo State government, yesterday, explained the reasons behind Governor Hope Uzodimma’s approval of 1,000 persons, who would undertake this year’s pilgrimage to Israel and Jordan.

[FILES] Governor Uzodimma. Photo/HopeUzodimma01

• To spend N1.5b

Amid criticisms, the Imo State government, yesterday, explained the reasons behind Governor Hope Uzodimma’s approval of 1,000 persons, who would undertake this year’s pilgrimage to Israel and Jordan.

The Guardian gathered that the last time the state-sponsored pilgrims to the holy land was during Rochas Okorocha’s administration in 2014; the number was far less.

Speaking during an interactive/phone-in programme on an Owerri-based radio station, Darling FM, the Chairman of the state Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board/ Chaplain of the Government House, Owerri, Fr. Olaribeoleafo Gilbert, said the state governor considered the “spiritual benefits and divine blessings” derivable from the holy land before making the approvals, not minding that the state would expend a whopping N1.5 billion at subsidised rate of N1.5 million per pilgrim, insisting that the state government had planned it.

His words: “The spiritual benefit is important, and far outweighs criticisms. I use to ask those who criticise it, what is the benefit of your prayer life to you? It is a fundamental right of pilgrims, and the statutory right of the government to fund or sponsored it. The pilgrims will go in batches. The state government has already planned for it. It is not going to affect other developmental projects. It is not misplacement of priority. Here, we are appreciative of the generosity of the state government in the approval.”

According to the cleric, the 48.7 per cent unemployment rate of Imo as at December 2022, released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), would not deter the action taken by the state governor.

Commending Uzodimma for what he referred to as ‘spiritual insight’ in approving the number, the chairman of the board said: “My office has been inundated with calls. It is a faith journey. If you make the journey sincerely, your life will change for better.”
According to the priest, a large chunk, about 80 per cent of selected pilgrims, would come from the poor in the rural areas spread in the about 647 autonomous communities in the 27 councils of the state.

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