By Bridget Ikyado
Abuja – Israel Tourism Minister, Yoel Razvozov said plans are on to commence direct flights from Israel to Nigeria on regular basis.
This information is contained in a statement by Mr Celestine Toruka, Head, Media and Public Relations, Nigerian Christian Pilgrim Commission (NCPC), Abuja.
The statement said Razvozov disclosed this recently in Jerusalem during a meeting with the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Christian Pilgrim Commission (NCPC), Dr Yakubu Pam.
The Tourism Minister, who had visited Pam twice recently in Israel, explained that the initial plan was to operate only charter flights between both countries.
He, however, said that the major focus now was to operationalise regular direct flights between the countries.
According to him, the plan will have mutual benefit for both countries on how to operate regular flights by a Nigerian airline.
Razvozor said that the direct regular flights by a Nigerian airline to Israel would certainly galvanise intending pilgrims from Nigeria to fly often to the Holy sites in Israel and even boost their financial strength.
According to Razvozov, Nigeria’s current population of no fewer than 200 million stands the country at advantage position as the most populous black nation on the African continent.
Nigeria and Israeli officials during the meeting.
He added that Christians constituting about 50 per cent of the population of Nigeria, it can boast of a reasonable number of intending pilgrims.
The minister assured that as the plans unfold, it would be decided whether the flight would operate from Lagos to Israel or Abuja to Israel.
He lauded the bold efforts of the NCPC boss at repositioning the bilateral relationship between Nigeria and Israel through pilgrimage.
Razvozov said that Pam would be making history when the regular direct flights began, being the current Executive Secretary of NCPC who played key roles in its actualisation.
In his remarks, Rev Pam said that Israel remains the major Pilgrimage destination of Nigerian pilgrims.
He stated that a regular direct flight by a Nigerian airline to Israel will “mark a positive watershed in our bilateral relationship with Israel and would strengthen cooperation between both countries.” (NAN/vitalnewsngr.com)
