The Executive Governor of Taraba State, Arc. Darius Ishaku, has said that the vibrancy of the Nigerian Christian Pilgrim Commission's pilgrimage programmes have exposed Christians to real teachings of the Bible. He disclosed this during a sensitization visit by the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Christian Pilgrim Commission (NCPC), John Kennedy Opara and his Federal Commissioners at Jalingo, Taraba State Capital.

Governor Ishaku commended the NCPC boss for the different pilgrimage programmes he has initiated since his assumption in office as the Executive Secretary of NCPC. He further commended him for the introduction of the skill acquisition component into the pilgrimage programme of the Commission. According to him, "pilgrimage now has both spiritual and economic benefits to our nation".

He promised to be part of 'A Day with Jesus in Israel on 25th October, 2015.

Earlier, the Executive Secretary of NCPC, John Kennedy Opara congratulated Govenor Ishaku for his victory in the last elections. He described the governor as a man of vision and focus whom God has chosen to serve the people of Taraba State. According to him, "you are a man of vision and focus and this has inspired a lot of people that are close to you".

He commended the Governor for how he had provided constant supply of water and power to the state, in his words, "you have brought your experience in the power sector to bear".

The NCPC boss reaffirmed that the Commission uses pilgrimage as a tool for moral transformation and spiritual rebirth; he said, "as many that are given the opportunity to travel to the Holy Land, they will come back as change agents and add value to their state".

He informed his host about the four pilgrimage programmes of the Commission which runs yearly: The Easter pilgrimage, Youth pilgrimage Family pilgrimage and the main pilgrimage which is usually held between October/December.

He intimated that skill acquisition was included into the youth pilgrimage which was launched in July this year as a way of empowering the youths. He disclosed that over one thousand youths embarked on pilgrimage this year and were exposed to skill acquisition in the area of Agriculture: according to him, "we want to tap into the wealth of knowledge of Israel’s agriculture, so that when our youths return, they would be able to create jobs for themselves and employ others".

Mr. Opara explained that the Commission is conscious of the economic situation in the country and as such is partnering with the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC), on Christian Pilgrimage lottery Scheme, which is targeted towards encouraging those who are spiritually rich, but materially poor to go on pilgrimage with little or no cost. In his words, "we want to ensure that every Christian buys the lottery tickets, the money generated from the tickets would be used in sponsoring those who are lucky to win the raffle draw at no cost to the federal and state government".

The Executive Secretary was accompanied on the sensitization visit by Archbishop Nemuel Babba, NCPC Federal Commissioner representing North-East, Pastor Abba Mishellia, Administrator Aso Villa Chapel, Mr. Henry Ezike, Head Planning Research and Programme Development (PRPD), NCPC Abuja, among others.