70 per cent of pastors in Nigeria are poor — Cleric

In a striking revelation, Nigerian preacher Gideon Odoma has claimed that at least 70% of pastors in Nigeria live in poverty.

He highlighted that thousands of pastors receive monthly salaries of less than N60,000, challenging the widespread belief that pastoring is a lucrative profession in the country.

Odoma shared his observations on his official X page, emphasising that the public’s perception is skewed by the visibility of prominent Pentecostal pastors and denominations.

He expressed his frustration with this misconception, pointing out that the financial struggles of most pastors go unnoticed.

“At least, 70% of pastors in Nigeria are poor. And that’s me being conservative,” Odoma wrote.

He continued, “Many people think that the popular Pentecostal MoGs (Men of God) and denominations are representative of reality. No. They are not. Do you know how much pastors of QIC, EYN, ECWA, NKST, UEC, COCIN, etc., are paid monthly? You won’t believe it if I told you.”

“There are thousands, you heard right, thousands of pastors who are paid less than 60,000 Naira monthly.

“Sometimes, when a pastor is posted to a new station, the station renegotiates his salary downwards, like: “Sir, we know you’re on 60k, based on the church’s payment schedule, but our assembly is struggling financially, so what we can afford is 35k monthly.”

“I know a case where a pastor refused the reduced offer, and he was replaced by a more ‘understanding’ pastor, while he was told to go home, till there was a church open and willing to pay him his due rate. He ended up waiting a full year before he was posted again. Man had to return to his village for a year.

“I happen to know something about how church denominations, the majority of them, operate. Most protestant churches in Nigeria are not Pentecostal, and even Pentecostalism (which has now become popular) does not pay huge salaries. Or tell, on average, what is the monthly salary of a senior Pastor in a Pentecostal church in Nigeria?

“I am tired of hearing that “pastoring is a lucrative business in Nigeria.” Even as a generalization, it is not true, because the overwhelming majority of our pastors are poor.

“I could say more, but for now, I won’t… my phone battery is low, because a town hall different…”

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