86-yr-old barred from pilgrimage

12.02.2008

The Presidential Committee for Christian Pilgrimage (PCCP) on Monday in Abuja said that an 86-year old man, Daniel Bito, had been prevented from participating in the pilgrimage to the holy land.

Bito was an intending pilgrim from Benue State who attracted attention at the commencement of the journey on Saturday at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.

“Pa Bito was disqualified because our arrangement with the Israeli authority does not allow people of his age to perform the pilgrimage.

“Because of the rigorous nature of the pilgrimage programme, we would not want to subject him to a situation which he would not cope,” Mr Kennedy Opara, Vice Chairman, PCCP, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

Opara said the age limit for intending pilgrims was 78 years. But Bito, who was sponsored by the state government, had scaled through the screening exercise in his state.