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Nigerian President to Lead 19 Governors, 30,000 Christian Pilgrims on Trip to Israel

by TheTower.org Staff |

Israeli-Nigerian ties have both deepened and broadened in recent years, after a relative low point four years ago when Nigeria’s then-foreign minister made a point of publicly castigating his Israeli counterpart.

Half a year later a new Nigerian government under Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan took over. Abuja subsequently increased both security and cultural cooperation with the Jewish state. The detection and capture of a Nigeria-based Hezbollah cell last May was credited to such ties.

Recent months have seen a flurry of activity devoted to boosting bilateral cooperation and exchanges. New partnerships conducted under the umbrella of the Nigeria-Israel Chamber of Commerce were planned and launched, and news broke this morning that Israel and Nigeria will soon sign a flight pact to facilitate the travel of pilgrims traveling from Nigeria to the Holy Land.

The flight pact is set to be signed during a massive upcoming trip to Israel led by Jonathan. Nineteen Nigerian governors will accompany the president, as will serving ministers, as will quite literally tens of thousands of pilgrims:

President Goodluck Jonathan is scheduled to lead over 30,000 Christian pilgrims to participate in this year Christian pilgrimage which would commence on October 19…. The president would be accompanied by Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, alongside some governors and deputy governors.

This is as the Nigeria Christian Pilgrim Commission (NCPC) promised the safety of the pilgrims that would visit Sinai, in Egypt… the commission was fully prepared for the exercise while working with Israeli and Egyptian authorities to ensure the safety of pilgrims. Opara said the airplanes to be used have been certified by engineers from Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

Jonathan has declared that the importance of the trip cannot be overemphasized. According to the NCPC website, President Jonathan will be “making history as the first sitting Christian President in Nigeria to embark on Holy Pilgrimage to Israel.”

[Photo: World Economic Forum / Flickr ]

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