Why I rejected N30m donation from Kebbi governor — Pastor Enenche

The Senior Pastor of Dunamis International Gospel Centre, Dr. Paul Enenche, has reacted to widespread reactions that trailed his rejection of a N30 million cash donation offered by the Kebbi State Governor, Mohammed Nasir Idris. 

Tribune Online reports that the Senior Pastor rejected a N30m cash donation by governor’s representatives during a large outdoor evangelical crusade recently held by the church in Kebbi State. 

Speaking during a sermon at the Dunamis International Gospel Centre Abuja on Sunday, Enenche gave reasons for his action, saying the rejection was not targeted at the governor but rather a principle he has upheld for a very long time. 

“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. As far back as, let’s say, twenty-something years ago, we’ve had invitations to say, ‘Let’s pray for this country, and at the end, everybody held envelopes, and I said, ‘No, ’I can’t pray for bale. And I took off from the spot,” he explained. 

Continuing, the pastor recalled how he was invited to Jerusalem for a presidential pilgrimage in 2014, alongside then-President Goodluck Jonathan and some governors. 

Pastor Enenche noted that the Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board invited him as a guest speaker on a Sunday morning to preach to them, adding that he paid his airfare for the round trips, rejecting an offer by the board to book air tickets for him.

“By the time we returned back, the board chairman, John Kennedy, then, Professor John Kennedy now, brought an offering and said this is their honorarium to me for going, I said No.” the Dunamis Pastor added.

Pastor Enenche further said that aside from the Jerusalem encounter, the then-President Jonathan, during his office days, attended the Dunamis Church on at least two different occasions, saying during that period and to date, there’s been no exchange of a dime between him and Jonathan. 

Pointing his finger up to refer to the church building, Enenche said, “Government funds are not in this project, not one naira.”

The pastor added that his decision to speak about it was to make it clear that what happened in Kebbi was a principle he has lived with for a long time. 

Recounting another experience, Pastor Enenche shared how he was invited by former Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State, whom he had prayed for before the election and upon assumption of office, to give leadership talks and pray during the inauguration of his cabinet members. 

The pastor noted that he went to Makurdi on his own expense, “and by the time I finished, one of the commissioners who was in charge of that kind of thing, was to give me an honorarium. Now, that was meant to be official honorarium for coming to teach us leadership things and so on, and he (Ortom) told that commissioner, he (Ortom) said: ‘He’ll not receive it.’

He added that despite caution from Ortom, the commissioner insisted on bringing the money to him, which he declined. “I said I don’t want to touch any dime of government money.”

Pastor Enenche said Ortom subsequently reminded him of how he (Ortom) had brought for him pocket money. “And I said, ‘I’m sure this is not from security votes. Please keep it, I’m okay’” 

The Pastor told another story of how a childhood friend who became a minister had bought a bus for the church, but he rejected it because the vehicle was possibly procured with government money. 

Giving a reason for his resolve not to accept money from government officials or items purchased with funds suspected to be from the government coffers, Pastor Enenche said he believes he’s in a position where whatever he receives will prevent him from speaking truth to power. 

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