TONTO DIKEH: CHRISTIAN PILGRIMS COMMISSION REFUTES PEACE AMBASSADOR’S CLAIM

The Nigeria Christian Pilgrim Commission NCPC has debunked the claim that a Nigerian actress, Tonto Dikeh was appointed a peace ambassador by the commission.

In a press statement issued on February 26th, 2021 and signed by Celestine Toruka, Head, Media and Public Relations NCPC,  Tonto Dikeh was said to have paid an official courtesy visit to the Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Christian Pilgrim Commission, Rev Yakubu Pam on 25th February 2021 at the corporate headquarters of the Commission in Abuja.

During her discussion with the Executive Secretary as the founder of Tonto Dikeh Foundation, she expressed her willingness and interest in partnering with the Commission in the area of peace-building. She equally cashed in on the visit to commend the NCPC boss for his positive and relentless peace initiatives across the country.

* Peace Ambassador?

However, we are suddenly inundated with claims from King Tonto Dikeh herself that she has been officially appointed as Ambassador of Peace by the Commission. This claim has gone virile (sic) in the media. The Commission frowns at this claim which is a clear misrepresentation of what transpired.

The fact remains that the Executive Secretary of NCPC never appointed King Tonto Dikeh an Ambassador of Peace for NCPC and this was not part of her visit therefore this claim by her is spurious, unfounded and should be discarded and seen by all Nigerians as a figment of her imagination.

Nevertheless, we appreciate her desire to partner with us in our peace-building initiatives and in the area of pilgrimage sponsorship to the Holy Land.

The news of the actress’s appointment as a Peace Ambassador has set tongues wagging in the Nigerian Christian community, unknown to many that it was stage-managed by the actress and therefore fake.

Speaking to E-life, an inside source at the commission said immediately the news broke that Dikeh was made a peace ambassador, against the truth of what happened, hell was let loose. But the Executive Secretary of the Commission, a well-known soul-winner and chairman of Christian Association of Nigeria, Northern region was so disturbed. He did not want to condemn the lady because Jesus would not do that and would not want to compromse the image of the commission.

‘Even the worst of criminals got pardoned on the cross. The lady who was caught in the act was not condemned by Jesus. If we must win souls to Christ, we should not condemn people as Dikeh’s critics were doing largely because of the person of the actress and the pictures she posted. But when the news was becoming political and destructive of the commission, the commission had to go public with the rebuttal in order to save the image of the commission.

The source said Tonto Dikeh played a fast one on the commission, and it was wrong. She said her foundation would be ready to partner with the commission on peace initiatives and also pick the bills of 10 people every time for pilgrimages. Who will be offered such assistance and refuse it? The Executive Secretary felt it was a good offer and a way of bringing her close to the commission and the church. That was why he went as far as taking pictures with her.

When they were leaving, the lady who brought her said why would the commission not make her an ambassador and the Secretary said they would look into that later, everything has procedures. Ambassadors are not just appointed like that.

If she was made an ambassador, we are the ones who would call her, give her papers of appointment, etc. Nothing like that took place. How could she go ahead to claim she was made an ambassador? We suddenly found the news on her blog and we called her to bring it down. Her handlers said she couldn’t be reached. Meanwhile, the news was becoming destructive of the commission and the person of the Executive Secretary. That was why the commission has reacted now that she was wrong. There was no appointment making her a peace ambassador.’