Edo Govt Tasks 26 Intending Christian Pilgrims To Be Good Ambassadors
The Edo State Government has charged 26 intending Christian Pilgrims to be good ambassadors of the state while on pilgrimage, urging them to shun the temptation to abscond, which can dent the image of the state and country.
The Secretary to the State Government, Osarodion Ogie Esq., gave the charge during the 2018 Pre-Pilgrimage Orientation/Retreat held at Government House, in Benin City. Ogie, who was represented by the state’s Head of Service (HoS), Mr. Isaac Ehiozuwa, said Edo recorded no case of abscondment in the 2017 exercise, stressing that the record must be sustained in the 2018 and subsequent editions, as the state government will not tolerate such behaviour.
“The evil of abscondment is that it puts our nation and state in a bad light and also affects our relationship with the host country,” he said. He added that the state government will continue to provide a mechanism to safeguard the pilgrims from the state, while visiting different sites during their pilgrimage, as their welfare is the utmost priority of the state government.
Ogie assured: “Government will continue to provide the needed logistics because we believe that all the pilgrims will be spiritually touched and morally transformed to contribute their quota to the development of their families, the state and country.”
Chairman, Edo Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board, Bishop Oyonnude Kure, urged the pilgrims to be of good behaviour while in the Holy lands of Israel and Rome, noting that the pilgrimage was not for tourism and business purposes.
He said the retreat was organised to correct the wrong impression about pilgrimage, “it is to fulfill God’s injunction. The journey is a rest with the Lord and for us to seek his face.”
Kure expressed appreciation to Governor Godwin Obaseki for graciously providing support for a successful 2018 pilgrimage.
