Bayelsa Pilgrims Welfare Board Conducts Orientation for 100 Pilgrims

The Special Adviser to Gov Douye Diri on Religious Affairs, Rev. Godspower Asingba says the 100 intending Pilgrims to the holy land of Israel and Jordan should see themselves as ambassadors of Bayelsa state, travelling to perform essential functions for the overall development of the state.

Rev. Godspower who stated this at the orientation and commendation programme for the intending Pilgrims further admonished them to imbibe basic spiritual ideals that would put the state in good light in the international scene, advising them to shun any act capable of tarnishing the image of the state in the holy land.

The Executive Secretary of the board, Eng. John Dan Aputu commended the state government for its relentlessness in ensuring that the Pilgrims board is empowered to perform its functions of organizing the journey to the holy land, calling on the beneficiaries to adhere strictly to rules and regulations guarding the trip to the holy land.

In his remarks, the Chairman of the board, Archbishop Jacob Akpiri recounted how he became a better christian after utilizing the opportunity to embark on a journey to the holy land, stressing that the beneficiaries should inculcate good behavior as that is the surest way to pave way for other intending Pilgrims in the future.

In the same vein, the Chairman of Christian Association of Nigeria, (CAN), Bayelsa state chapter, Very Rev. Joseph Opelema opined that the Pilgrims should not see Pilgrimage as an opportunity for fun and other social activities but rather embrace it as a sacred journey for the purpose of concrete spiritual awakening that would make them useful not only for themselves but the society as a whole.

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the Department of State Services(DSS) sensitized the beneficiaries on the need to avoid crime and criminality as they embark on the journey.