The representative of the Pope in Nigeria, Archbishop Antonio Guido Filipazzi, announced on Monday in Abuja, during the opening ceremony of the first plenary meeting of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) that Kaigama would take over from His Eminence, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, who attained the retirement age of 75 years on January 29.
Kaigama was until his appointment, the Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese of Jos and immediate past President of the CBCN.
“We congratulate and pray for Archbishop Kaigama. I know that it is not easy for him. But I told him like Abraham, go out of your land to the land God will show you and God will bless you and make you the father of many people,” Filipazzi said.
According to local media reports, the new Catholic Bishop of Abuja hails from Taraba State in northern Nigeria.
Born on July 31, 1958, Kaigama studied for the priesthood at St. Augustine’s Major Seminary in Jos and Rome respectively.
Kaigama was ordained priest on June 6, 1981, and was appointed Bishop of Jalingo by Pope John Paul II, and later consecrated as Bishop on April 23, 1995.
In 2,000, Kaigama was appointed the Archbishop of Jos to succeed late Archbishop Gabriel Ganaka.