NAN-H-76
Centre
By Sumaila Ogbaje
Abuja, Oct. 10, 2016 (NAN) Rev. Tor Uja, the Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Christian Pilgrim Commission (NCPC), says a pilgrim centre will be opened in Israel to provide a rallying point for those participating in the spiritual exercise.
A statement issued in Abuja on Monday by the commission’s Head of Media, Mr Celestine Ogugua, said the proposed centre would also help to project the image of the country in Israel.
The statement said that Uja made the disclosure in Goshen City, FCT, during the medical orientation programme for the Federal Medical Team for the 2016 pilgrimage to Israel, Rome and Greece.
Uja said that the commission had a fully equipped medical centre at the Embassy of Nigeria in Tel-Aviv, Israel, to cater for the medical needs of pilgrims.
He explained that the objective of the medical orientation exercise was to provide training and synergy for those who would be handling pilgrims before, during and after the pilgrimage.
The NCPC boss said the Federal Medical Committee, which supervised the medical team, were made up of 15 experienced and seasoned medical personnel.
He explained that their primary duty was to organise, coordinate and supervise the implementation of the Federal Government’s health policy on pilgrimage.
Uja added that the selection process for medical team members was done electronically by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board and supervised by NCPC.
The secretary expressed satisfaction with the performance of the medical personnel, saying that it met international standard.
The NCPC boss said that with the calibre of the medical personnel, Nigerians should no longer embark on medical tourism to foreign countries.
“The result of the medical examination showed that we have qualified medical personnel in this country.
“Nigeria must be proud of their medical personnel because they have what it takes to deliver,’’ he said.
Uja, however, urged the medical team members to ensure that they participated in all activities during the pilgrimage.
“NCPC is currently reviewing the approved pilgrimage sites to ensure spiritual excellence, especially sites that were biblically true and relevant.
“NCPC is exploring options of pilgrimage beyond Israel, Rome and Greece,’’ he said.
In his address, the Chairman of the Federal Medical Committee, Dr Joseph Amedu, said that the Federal Government had constituted the committee to coordinate, organise and supervise the overall medical programme of the entire pilgrimage process.
Amedu explained that the essence of the medical orientation exercise was to form a forum for group chat on how to handle the pilgrims’ medical needs.
He said that the orientation programme would afford them the opportunity to ensure that all Nigerians who travelled to Israel were medically fit.
According to him, pilgrimage should not be seen as tourism, but a serious spiritual exercise.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the three-day medical orientation programme for the 2016 Christian pilgrimage had as theme: “Health and Spiritual Management of Nigerian Christian Pilgrims.’’
No fewer than 170 medical personnel from across the country participated in the programme and they included medical doctors, pharmacists, nurses and medical laboratory scientists. (NAN)
OYS/MNA/OJO
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(Edited by Maureen Atuonwu and controlled by Mufutau Ojo)