‘Why MFM GO don’t comment on public issues’

Managing Director/Editor-in Chief, African Newspapers of Nigeria (ANN) Plc, publishers of the Tribune titles, Mr Edward Dickson (left), presenting a copy of the maiden edition of the Nigerian Tribune to Pastor Oladele Bank-Olemoh, during a visit of media team of Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries to the Tribune House, Imalefalafia, Ibadan, on Tuesday.

•Media team commends Tribune management

THE mission and vision of the General Overseer, Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFM), Dr Daniel Kolawole Olukoya, to propagate the gospel of Jesus Christ globally, under the ‘prompting’ of the Holy Spirit, has been described as the main reason the man of God speaks less on public issues.

This was revealed on Tuesday, by the leader of the media team of the church, Pastor Bank Olemoh, who led other members of the team on a visit to the headquarters of the African Newspapers of Nigeria (ANN) Plc, publishers of the Tribune titles, in Ibadan.

Pastor Olemoh’s team was received by the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief, Mr Edward Dickson, in his office, with some management staff, among who are the Editor, Saturday Tribune, Mr Lasisi Olagunju, the Chief Accountant, Mrs Oluremi Olufisayo, Human Resources Manager, Mrs Bukola Ezeamaka, Internal Control Auditor Manager, Mr Peculiar Adegbite and Mr S.M Afolabi.

Olemoh, who disclosed that the visit was informed by the directive of Dr Olukoya, who believed that the mission of the General Overseer seemed not clear to the public, who in some cases, misjudged him.

“Many people have criticised the church, but they do not understand him. You won’t find him at press conferences and places where journalists are, it is because he does not do anything without the prompting of the Holy Spirit.

“He said his mission is to spread the gospel all over the world and decongest the whole world of satanic strongholds. And through his fire prayers, many people have been delivered all over the world. His prayer power that God gave him, is now known all over the world,” he said.

Olemoh, a veteran broadcaster, however appealed to the management of the Tribune titles, to demonstrate professionalism the newspapers have been known for over the years, regarding news from the church.

“If people have anything about the church, and they let you know, please let us know. That is the main reason why we are here. There are many wicked people who take advantage of the generosity and kindness of the GO today, to say all sorts of things about him,” he added.

Responding, the MD/EIC, ANN Plc, Mr Dickson, in his welcome address on behalf of the board of management, said,“Tribune is a newspaper that is founded on deep principles, it is not one of those newspapers that would be linked with the practice of yellow journalism.

“And of course, those kind of stories will certainly not find their way to any of our titles, because we are not cast in that kind of mould. “Since you have mentioned it, and there is a message that has been conveyed to us through you by Dr Olukoya, we want to assure you that we will pay more attention to such stories so that at the end of the day, they won’t get into our content.

“We want to assure you that whenever you have your releases, events, let us know, we assure you of adequate coverage and publicity.

“It doesn’t matter if Daddy GO is media shy or not. We have about eight pages dedicated to church news every Sunday, that tells you how much we are giving to churches in the country.

“We specifically created those pages for churches in Nigeria. And if GO is interested in having a space for his sermon, we can discuss with you on how to get this done,” Dickson said.