Niger State Starts Plans for Christian Pilgrimage After 10 Years

The Niger State Government is now getting ready for the 2026 Christian pilgrimage. This comes more than ten years after they stopped government support for pilgrimages due to money issues.

This information was shared in a report by Northern News on Friday. It mentioned that the Niger State Pilgrims’ Welfare Board has started making plans for the pilgrimage under Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago.

The board held a meeting with its members and staff from the Christian Department at its office in Minna. They wanted to plan well and ensure the welfare of the pilgrims.

The meeting was led by the board’s Executive Secretary, Muhammad Aliyu, who was represented by the Director of Administration, Ado Bello. Mr Bello said the goal was to improve teamwork between board members and staff in organizing the pilgrimage. This is part of the state government’s New Niger Agenda.

Mr Bello pointed out that the Christian and Muslim departments will work together to serve pilgrims. He stressed the need for early planning, accountability, and coordination before the 2026 pilgrimage.

Paul Lawrence, the Director of Administration for the Christian Department, said they will mobilize pilgrims from all 25 local government areas in the state. They will also screen participants with help from the right agencies.

He added that they plan to offer orientation and spiritual programs. They will also work on better accommodation and food arrangements and strengthen ties with the Christian Association of Nigeria and church leaders.

Mr Lawrence mentioned that the department will collaborate with the Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission. This will ensure they follow national guidelines, process travel documents on time, and arrange for airlifting.

He also said security agencies and medical screening teams would check that pilgrims meet health standards. "Measures to prevent abscondment and promote discipline throughout the exercise have been put in place," he noted. He urged the board’s management to keep providing operational and financial support.

Deborah Salawu, who leads the Christian board members, welcomed the plans and promised support for the pilgrimage.

On 17 May 2016, former Governor Abubakar Sani Bello suspended state funding for both Muslim and Christian pilgrims going to Mecca and Jerusalem. He cited Nigeria’s economic problems and the state’s falling revenue as reasons.

In a statement from Minna by his then Chief Press Secretary, Jibrin Ndace, Mr Bello said the sponsorship for pilgrimages was on hold right away. "The government is committed to supporting our people in fulfilling their religious obligations, but the dwindling economic fortunes of the state, in the face of other equally people-oriented demands, sponsorship of pilgrims to Hajj and Jerusalem is hereby suspended," the statement said.

However, the former governor said the state would keep sponsoring officials who needed to help with pilgrimage arrangements.

Even with the suspension, individual Muslims still went for Hajj. They registered through the Niger State Pilgrims’ Welfare Board and traveled to Saudi Arabia with their own money.

Later, the Bago administration started funding some Muslim pilgrims again. For the 2025 Hajj, the state government reportedly spent ₦3.02 billion to cover the costs of 357 sponsored pilgrims.

Now, the plans for the 2026 Christian pilgrimage show a new effort to help Christian pilgrims after the previous suspension that affected both faiths. But the report did not say how many Christians the government plans to sponsor in 2026, the budget for the pilgrimage, or if the state will pay for all the expenses.