CAN president lauds NCPC boss for proactive measures on pilgrimage

By Albert Akota

The President of the Christian Association of Nigeria,CAN, Archbishop Daniel Okoh has commended the proactive and visionary leadership of the third substantive Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Christian Pilgrim Commission, Rev Dr

Yakubu Pam.

He made the commendation while playing host to the NCPC boss and his management team in his office at the CAN national Secretariat in Abuja.

He commended him for the visible innovations he had brought to bear in the Commission since his assumption of office.

He further commended him for being able to navigate through the waters of pilgrimage in spite of some obvious challenges facing the Commission.

Speaking earlier, Executive Secretary informed him what led to the discovery of Jordan under his watch in 2021 as a viable pilgrimage destination which had positively increased the profile of the Commission.

He outlined some of his laudable achievements in office which include but not limited to the commencement of direct flight from Nigeria to Israel for the first time in the history of our bilateral air service agreement with Israel.

The Federal Government has launched an additional Passport Front Office in Auchi, Edo State, as part of it’s effort towards effective service delivery to Nigerians. This is just as it promised to launch a home delivery service of passport.

The Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, who spoke at the opening of the Nigeria Immigration Service Passport Front Desk Office in Auchi, Edo State, on Saturday, 20th May, 2023, said that it is the intention of the Government to provide the passport for anyone desirous of it within reasonable time, at affordable price and without any stress.

According to him, the launch of another Passport Front Desk Office is significant as the Nigerian Passport is a proof of existence especially for those outside the country as Inability to produce it on demand may bring untoward consequences.

“What we are doing here is significant for two main reasons. The first is the right (and even the necessity) of Nigerians, especially those in the diaspora to hold the Nigerian passport. Except for those travelling outside the country or intend to, most of those who hold the passport do so for identification purposes. For some, it is also a thing of pride to be able to brandish the green back of the passport. But for those outside the country, the passport is the proof of their existence. Inability to produce it on demand may bring untoward consequences. The government therefore wants to provide the passport for anyone desirous of it within reasonable time, at affordable price and without any stress whatsoever.

The second is the need, flowing from the first, to break out of the regular”, he maintained.”

While speaking, the Minister promised to conclude negotiations with NIPOST on the usage of its speedy mail service to start delivering passport to Nigerians who opt for such service.

“We are in the final stage of concluding negotiations with NIPOST to begin using its speed mail service to deliver passports to Nigerians wherever they are in the world after production,” the Minister remarked.

Aregbesola, while stating that Edo State has one of the highest passport applications in Nigeria, revealed that the waiting period between application and collection would likely increase due to the recent increase in demand.

In his words; “Our current working schedule is that fresh application would take six weeks after biometric data registration and three weeks for renewal. This is reasonable, competitive