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Central Bank of Nigeria Central Business District P.M.B. 0187 Garki, Abuja E-mail: ted@cenbank.org

TED/FEM/FPC/GEN/01/008 January 23, 2008 TO: ALL AUTHORISED DEALERS AND GENERAL PUBLIC YEAR 2007 CHRISTIAN PILGRIMAGE: PURCHASE OF PILGRIMS TRAVELLING ALLOWANCE This is to inform all Authorised Dealers and general public that the Federal Government has approved a maximum of 25,000 (Twenty five thousand) Christians to undertake the holy pilgrimage to Israel. The arrangements for the pilgrimage are as follows: 1. The Government has approved the purchase of a minimum of US$750.00 (Seven hundred and fifty United States Dollars only) and a maximum of US$1,500.00 (One thousand, five hundred United States Dollars only) by each intending pilgrim as Personal Travel Allowance (PTA) at a prevailing market rate. 2. The PTA can be purchased at any of the underlisted designated banks: a. Bank PHB b. United Bank for Africa Plc c. Zenith Bank Plc d. First Bank Plc e. Union Bank Plc f. Skye Bank Plc g. Unity Bank Plc h. Fidelity Bank Plc i. Oceanic Bank j. Afribank Plc k. Guaranty Trust Bank Plc l. First Inland Bank Plc m. Intercontinental Bank Plc n. FCM Bank Plc 3. No pilgrim should be denied the PTA on the ground that he/she has no Tax Clearance Certificate, International air ticket and visa. This is because the pilgrimage will be by charter flight and tickets will only be issued at the point of departure while visas will be issued to the pilgrims at the point of entry (Ben Gurion Airport, Tel Aviv) in line with Israeli Government policy. However, an endorsed copy of each pilgrim's passport should be retained by the bank for records purposes.

4. In view of the time constraint associated with the pilgrimage exercise, the Chairman or the Secretary of each State Pilgrims' Board, after due identification, may be allowed to sign for and collect the PTA on behalf of the intending pilgrims in his/her State on presentation of the approved list and valid passports of the pilgrims listed against his/her State.

5. The fourteen designated banks are advised to contact the Director, Foreign Operations Department, Central Bank of Nigeria, Abuja for details in respect of the purchase of PTA to cover their sales to the intending pilgrims.

6. The attached schedule shows the list of the States assigned to each of the designated banks for the purpose of procuring the PTA. 7. The designated banks must render returns in respect of actual sales of PTA to the Director, Foreign Operations Department, Central Bank of Nigeria, Abuja, within two (2) weeks from the end of the exercise (i.e. from the date of the last departure of flight from Israel). Authorised Dealers are enjoined to comply with the provisions of the circular, failing which appropriate sanctions shall apply.

B. MUSA
AG. DIRECTOR,
TRADE AND EXCHANGE DEPARTMENT

List Of States And Recommended Banks Assigned To Them For The Purchase Of Pilgrims' Travelling Allowance (Pta) For Year 2007 Christian Pilgrimage As Indicated In The Table Below

S/NO.	STATES	NO. OF	CHOICE OF BANKS
	PILGRIMS
1.	FCT	261	Fidelity Bank Plc
2.	Taraba	280	Zenith Bank Plc
3.	Benue	614	Zenith Bank Plc
4.	Kogi	163	United Bank for Africa Plc
5.	Osun	594	United Bank for Africa Plc
6.	Kebbi	48	Unity Bank Plc
7.	Kwara	280	Afribank Plc
8.	Lagos	1040	Union Bank Plc
9.	Niger	30	Bank PHB Plc
10.	Bauchi	299	G. T. Bank Plc
11.	Ogun	525	Skye Bank Plc
12.	Gombe	207	Fidelity
13.	Adamawa	29	Zenith Bank Plc
14.	Bayelsa	1000	United Bank for Africa Plc
15	Delta	370	Zenith Bank Plc
16.	Kaduna	938	Zenith Bank Plc
17.	Ebonyi	401	Union Bank Plc
18.	Abia	507	FCMB Plc
19.	Edo	317	Zenith Bank Plc
20.	Oyo	598	Skye Bank Plc
21.	Plateau	800	Oceanic Bank Plc
22.	Borno	43	Zenith Bank Plc
23.	Imo	194	First Inland Bank Plc
24.	Kano	11	Skye Bank Plc

25.	Ekiti	197	Zenith Bank Plc
26.	Nasarawa	118	Unity Bank Plc
27.	Anambra	126	United Bank for Africa Plc
28.	Enugu	134	First Bank Plc
29.	Cross River	12	Intercontinental Bank Plc
30.	Yobe	35	Union Bank Plc
31.	Akwa Ibom	256	First Bank Plc