By Billy Graham Abel, Yola

The Catholic Bishop of Yola Diocese and Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Adamawa state, Bishop Dami Mamza has tasked Nigeria’s anti-corruption bodies of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) to stand up to their responsibility and beam their searchlight on Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission over massive irregularities and questionable behaviour that is causing disrepute to the Christian body in the country.

Mamza also called on the federal government to immediately sack the Executive Secretary of the Commission, Pam Yakubu, who has imploded the smooth running of pilgrims activities causing Nigerian christians to be stranded during pilgrimages and become a laughing stock to the global community.

Mamza made this known during a press briefing in Yola, Adamawa state.

Dami Mamza said, it has become the regular and embarrassing experience for Christians in Nigerian to travel for pilgrimages without proper arrangements for accommodation, travel logistics and other arrangements that should have been arranged by the Pam Yakubu led commission.

The CAN chairman who expressed dismay over the toxic atmosphere at the commission, said, every well-meaning christian should be concerned over the shady activities at the commission that is giving Christians a bad name.

The cleric who issued the strong worded reservation against the Executive Secretary of the commission, Yakubu Pam in Yola, on Thursday, said the executive secretary is a disappointment to Christianity and urged him to immediately resign from office to save the commission from an impending doom.

Bishop Dami said, “I want to make some statements regarding the pilgrimage we had six months ago. The Adamawa state government under the leadership of governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri was able to make arrangements for christian pilgrims to go to Rome in large numbers.

“When we came back I didn’t want to say anything because I want to reflect on the experience we passed through and since then for the past six months my conscience has been bordering me regarding the activities that are taking place at the Nigerian christians pilgrimage commission under the leadership of Rev. Yakubu Pam.

“The pilgrimage that we went to in Rome, if I had not part of the team and the team leader, Adamawa State citizens would have been stranded in Rome and they would have been left in the Nigerian embassy in Rome.

“The government of Adamawa State gave adequate resources in other for the activities of the pilgrimage to take place. But the Nigerian Christians Pilgrimage Commission did nothing.

”The pilgrims arrived Rome, and some of us have no rooms to stay, no buses and no arrangement was made for people to move from one place to the other.

“I was able to make arrangement so that we can have audience with the Pope and the holy father. And the holy father recognised and acknowledged the presence of over 100 pilgrims from Adamawa State. We were so delighted. That was the only good thing that went well in that pilgrimage,” he said.

Mamza decried that it was unfortunate that some of the pilgrims who ought to spend no fewer than seven days in the holy land just spent a night and have to come back because of sloppy and shabby arrangements by the Pam led commission.

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“Some pilgrims actually went to the pilgrimage and spent just one night and they have to come back the following day because no accomodations was provided and there was no feeding. In fact, I have to go to the Vatican bank to withdraw money from there and started making arrangement for accomodations for some pilgrims because the national body collected the money and did not make any arrangement.

“There was no proper pre-visit before we went and the pilgrims that supposed to stay a minimum of one week spent only few days. Those that spent long time are those that spent five days. I use my own resources for people to stay for three days so that they will have the feeling of Rome.

“We had three first class traditional rulers and accomodations was not proper and
no feeding. They were made to become liability for everybody, and everybody was a liability. I decided to keep quiet for the next pilgrimage to take place,” he said.

The CAN chairman added that from information at his disposal, the latest pilgrimage was even worst compared to the one they attended six months ago.

“I understand that our own situation was even better. Their own was worst there was even a deputy governor and some first class traditional rulers in the team some of them have no visa. Some of them found themselves in different countries they never planned to visit. The Nigerian Christians Pilgrims Commission is in a mess.

“And I want to call on SGF, I understand that the commission is under his office to investigate the activities of Yakubu Pam. There are a lot of wrongs going there and he seems to be single handedly working because even of recent, the chairman of the commission issued a letter to the effect that he has not been involved in anything at the Commission,” Mamza Queried.

He said it was wrong in the first place for the federal government to consider someone with character deficit like Pam to hold such important organ adding that the misconduct of Pam is throwing the commission in disrepute.

“What do you expect from somebody that has been sacked from his church?

“And then he is given that kind of appointment. He is a disappointment to christians. If you are going to give someone appointment even if it is a political appointment find out the track record of that person. This is someone that has no church, because the Assemblies of God Church has sacked him but FG appointed him and his is an embarrassment to Christians,” he said.

He accused Pam of sabotaging plans by Adamawa pilgrims commission to organize a smooth pilgrimage for selfish reasons noting that after taking over the operations, he messed everything up.

“The first arrangement we made was perfect but Yakubu Pam frustrated it because money did not go through him. He came severally to Adamawa State and people begged him to allow us to go but he insisted and even wrote to Italian embassy to deny us visa and then at the end of the day everything was submitted to him and he got us int this mess.

“If the whole thing happened the way it was initially organized, nothing would have happened because he insisted that every pilgrim those that are travelling in large numbers must pass through the Nigerian Christians Pilgrimage Commission which is right, there are others that pay from their pockets but could not get accomodations, what happened to their money?

“We cannot continue to keep silent. We do not know what will happen because even the chairman of the commission said that Christian Pilgrimage should be suspended. I saw letters by the chairman asking Yakubu Pam to explain things. So things are not in order,” he added.

Mamza noted that the collective message from all the CAN bodies across the states in the country is that of despondent christian pilgrims commission.