Mr Ibrahim Kafi, Executive Secretary of the Plateau Christians Pilgrims Welfare Board, said on Wednesday that the 508 pilgrims who performed pilgrimage in Israel had returned home.
Kafi told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Jos that the pilgrims, who left the state for Israel in December 2012, returned on Jan. 3 without any case of defection. He said the board made travel arrangements for 508 out of the 1,100 pilgrims sponsored by both the state and local governments.
Kafi attributed the low number to logistic problems occasioned by prolonged strike by local government workers in Plateau. He said the state and 17 councils sponsored the 1,100 applicants, adding that the 600 others would make the trip this year. “What we are waiting for now is for the team from Abuja to come and screen them,'' Kafi said. (NAN)