Senior Pastor of Dunamis International Gospel Centre, Dr. Paul Enenche has provided insight into his rejection of a N30 million donation from Kebbi State Governor, Nasir Idris.
NATIONAL POST recalls that the pastor, during a recent crusade held in the state, openly rejected the monetary donation from the governor.
He asked the government to channel the money to charity.
Speaking on his decision during a Sunday sermon at the Dunamis headquarters in Abuja, the pastor said he had a decision not to be tainted with government funding.
According to him, this is to avoid undue influence on his ministry.
He also revealed that no kobo of the government was committed to the church’s building project.
“For some people, that may be a surprise because they don’t know who we are. But those who know us, that’s no surprise at all. That’s how we’ve lived, and that’s what we’ve stood for,” he said.
Going down memory lane, he said he turned down honorariums after delivering sermons during national assignments.
One such case was in 2014, when he was invited to Jerusalem by the Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board alongside then-President Goodluck Jonathan and state governors.
According to him, he paid his own travel expenses and declined any form of financial reward.
“By the time we returned, the board chairman brought an offering and said this is their honorarium to me for going, I said no,” he said.
Enenche also disclosed that former President Jonathan attended his church on more than one occasion during his tenure, yet no financial exchanges occurred between them.
Referring to the church’s headquarters building, he emphasized, “Government funds are not in this project, not one naira.”
He recounted similar experiences with former Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, and a childhood friend who later became a minister and offered to donate a vehicle, which he also rejected.
“I don’t want to touch any dime of government money,” he said, adding that accepting such gifts could hinder his prophetic responsibility.