Pilgrims Commission commends Ugwuanyi on faith building

Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State has been commended for his dedication to the building of faith of the people of the state through his administration’s constant sponsorship of indigenes to the Holy lands of Israel and Jordan.

Ugwuanyi was also commended for always putting Enugu in the front position among states in the country that embark on Christian Pilgrimage. 

The Executive Secretary, Nigeria Christian Pilgrims Commission (NCPC), Rev. Dr. Yakubu Pam, made the commendations yesterday in Enugu, during the national flag-off of the December 2022 Christian Pilgrimage, which witnessed the airlifting of 300 pilgrims to the Holy lands of Israel and Jordan, sponsored by the state government.

Speaking at the event, Pam said that Enugu State has always been number one in the national exercise, stressing that the state was the first to commence the 2022 December Pilgrimage in the country. 

Pam, who described Ugwuanyi as “the governor of the masses, the governor who brought Israel and Rome to Enugu State, a man of peace and a man that his people love so much”, maintained that “Enugu State will always be number one.”

He disclosed that “the first flight that is going to airlift people to the December Pilgrimage touched down first in Enugu and it is in the airport now waiting for you (Pilgrims).” 

In his brief remarks, the Executive Secretary, Enugu State Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board, Nestor Ezeme, a lawyer, pointed out that Ugwuanyi has remained consistent in sponsoring Christian Pilgrims to the Holy Land of Israel and Jordan in spite of the state’s limited resources, revealing that it was because of this feat that the NCPC honoured him with ‘Best Pilgrimage Governor in the South East Nigeria’ award. 

Ezeme told the governor that the beneficiaries, comprising professors, doctors, teachers, Keke riders, market women and other people from all walks of life and different Christian denominations in Enugu State, were grateful to him and would show further appreciation when they return back.

Speaking, Ugwuanyi expressed delight at the choice of Enugu State for the epoch event.

The governor, who acknowledged with deep sense of appreciation, the award of the ‘Best Pilgrimage Governor in the South East Nigeria’ conferred on him last year by NCPC, implored the Pilgrims to pray for President Muhammadu Buhari, all the governors of the 36 state of Nigeria “and indeed all those in authority in the country whom God has anointed to manage our affairs.” 

He equally urged them to “pray for God’s intervention in the affairs of Nigeria, especially the ravaging insecurity and economic hardship; pray for a peaceful 2023 general election and a successful transition; pray for more love and tolerance among Nigerians as a new paradigm that will underpin the full restoration of peace, unity and progress.”