Pilgrims commission urges unity among Christians, Muslims

By Albert Akota

The Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Christian Pilgrims Commission (NCPC), Rev. Tor Uja has stressed the need for Christians and Muslims to live in unity.
He disclosed this recently while playing host to the Executive Chairman of National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Alhaji Mukhtar Abdullahi in his office in Abuja.
In the words of the NCPC boss, “it is important to say that Christians and Muslims are not in competition, we are in cooperation”. He added, “It is important for all Nigerians to learn the importance of cooperation”. He explained that there was no need for social strife and unrest in the country, especially considering the harm that the Boko Haram insurgency has caused this nation.
He commended his guest for the achievement recorded during the just concluded 2017 Hajj operations. According to him, “we are very proud of what you achieved in 2017 Hajj”.
The NCPC chief executive reaffirmed that despite the high number of pilgrims, the Hajj Commission was able to effectively manage them without issues.
He congratulated the NAHCON Chairman and his team for their giant strides. He also called on all the Muslims and Christians in the country to work for the progress and peace of Nigeria.
The Executive Secretary further stressed that “Nigeria is bigger than our local needs, “I will like Nigeria to be our agenda, a dream that we want to see”.
Rev. Uja further remarked, “I respect what you have achieved in Hajj, trusting God that you will achieve greater things”.
In his remark, the Executive Chairman of NAHCON, Mukhtar Abdullahi thanked the Executive Secretary of NCPC for his prayers during the 2017 Hajj operations. According to him, “we felt the impact of the prayer even while in the Holy Land. He further stated, “Your prayer and that of Nigerians gave us a miraculous success”.
The chairman hinted that the issue of 2017 Hajj fares turned out to be a political issue that almost over heated the system which would have marred the efforts of the Commission. However, he intimated that this year’s Hajj operation was accident free in all ramifications.
The chairman stressed the need to rekindle the Peace Project already initiated by both Commissions as this would help to promote peace in the country. He explained that both Commissions have the machineries across the country that would serve as Peace Ambassadors.
He equally stated that the clergy would also be used as peace ambassadors during the NCPC, NAHCON peace initiative.