By Ahmad Umar
Gombe (Nigeria)– Intending Pilgrims to Israel from Gombe state, northern Nigeria have been warned against social vices including drug trafficking in the Holy Land.
 Gombe State Governor, Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo gave the warning on Wednesday at the flag- off of 2017 airlift of Nigerian Intending Pilgrims to Israel held at the Lawanti International Airport, Gombe .
The Governor represented by his Deputy, Mr. Charles Iliya who was also part of the State contingent to Israel, warned against absconding by any of the pilgrims in the holy Land.
The Governor enjoined the Intending Pilgrims to pray for President Muhammadu Buhari, State Governors and the entire country for peace and harmony.
Also speaking, his Plateau State counterpart, Governor Simon Lalong said that the obligation of governments to her citizens within the context of her social welfare provision, entails providing the needed support for their spiritual and moral up liftment of their souls through spiritual exercises.
He noted that peoples character are shaped by their spiritual convictions and to have good people of sound and balance morals in the society, their faith must be strengthened by helping them to experience physically what they believed.
“As ambassadors of Christ from Nigeria, our prayer as a government is that you will be good ambassadors of our country by obeying all laws of the Land of Israel in the course of your visit.
In his remark, the Executive Secretary, National Christian Pilgrims Commission, Reverend Toh Uja advised the intending Pilgrims to Israel to go on site seeing and to look at the agricultural development of Israel with the aim of practicing such in Nigeria.
A break down of the intending pilgrims shows that of the 253 from Gombe State, 217 sponsored by the state government, 25 self-sponsored and 11 sponsored by the 11 local government councils in the state.
Bauchi State has a total of 77 intending Pilgrims.
