A foremost philanthropist, Chief Emeka Offor has said he has no hand in the recent repatriation of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. Nnamdi Kanu was reportedly arrested in Kenya and repatriated to Nigeria to continue his trial in court. Sir Offor in a by his media Aide Ebuka Obi, and said the allegation is not true and perpetuated by persons who really should have known better. ‌ “Sir Dr Emeka Offor, the Chrome Group of Companies and Sir Emeka Offor Foundation have become aware of web-based allegations, purportedly linking Sir Dr Emeka Offor with the recent repatriation to the Country of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. “The internet has brought many great benefits and advantages to mankind but it has also become the unfortunate domain of mischief makers and the uninformed. “It is common knowledge that Sir Dr Emeka Offor seldom grants interviews or engage in media/press statements except on occasions when the activities of his charitable and non-governmental Foundation Sir Emeka Offor Foundation (SEOF) are involved. “However, it has become necessary in the present circumstances to state categorically that there is absolutely no truth in these spurious allegations made and perpetuated by persons who really should have known better”, the statement said. Furthermore, the statement said Sir Emeka Offor Foundation has been engaged in helping people in need become independent and self-sufficient. “Since the onset of the global pandemic which has laid waste the financial aspirations of individuals, Organisations and Countries, SEOF has made significant and unparalleled interventions in the health and educational sectors of our economy”, the statement added. The statement noted that in the last 18 months, the Foundation has donated “14 units of 40 feet container-load of Medical Equipment and Supplies to Tertiary Medical Institutions in Nigeria, Medicine and Medicament to over Forty (40) hospitals and Medical Centres in Nigeria. “Built and commissioned Sir (Dr.) Emeka Offor Rotary Hall in the Rotary International District 9125 Centre Abuja, shortly after making commendable interventions that led to the WHO Certification of Nigeria and indeed Africa as free from Wild Polio Virus. “Distributed books, computers, educational equipment/materials and accessories to over 80 universities, 22 Polytechnics, 37 Colleges of Education, 180 Primary & Secondary Schools and Public Libraries across the 6 Geopolitical Zones of Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory.Continuous support to the widows Cooperative Group in Anambra State.”

Pastor Peter Godwin, a cleric with the Living Faith Church International, popularly known as Winners Chapel, says the church sacked him and about 40 other pastors in Ekiti State for failing to grow their respective parishes. The PUNCH, however, learnt that the figure may be much higher than 40 nationwide. In a letter that has been trending on social media, which is dated June 25, 2021 and signed by the Executive Secretary of the church, Adebisi Aboluwade, the pastors were asked to vacate their official accommodation and hand over their identity cards to their respective area pastors. One of the letters reads in part, “Consequent upon the recent performance reviews which revealed that your church growth index falls below expectations. “Please be informed that your services as a pastor in charge are no longer required from this commission with immediate effect. “You are to vacate the official accommodation (where applicable) and hand over all properties of the ministry in your custody, including your staff identity card to the area pastor before departure. “May you find grace for a new beginning. Peace.” In a trending video, Pastor Godwin, who claimed to be one of the pastors affected in Ekiti State, said he was employed on August 28, 2020. He claimed that he was invited with about 40 of his colleagues by the state pastor on July 1, 2021, but was sacked for failing to grow the revenue of the church. The pastor said that, on July 1, he received a call that the state pastor wanted to see him, and that he was surprised to see about 40 other pastors when he arrived. Godwin said, “When I got there, I saw other pastors too, over 40 of them. So, I joined them. “A few minutes later, we were [each] issued a letter. I opened the content of the letter to see what was there and I saw that it was a sack letter. “So, I called the management the next day to find out what happened since I wasn’t involved in any dubious activity or evil act. I was told by the management that the church doesn’t operate at a loss. “They also told me that the total income that is being generated from my station should be able to cater for my welfare and accommodation, so as a result of low income, I’m hereby dismissed.” It was learnt that the church was working on a statement for an official response. A source within the church, however, told The PUNCH that the sacking of the pastors had nothing to do with money; rather, the source said, it involved membership growth. “As indicated in the letter, pastors were sacked for failing to grow membership, which is a key aspect of the ministry. “It had nothing to do with money and nowhere in any of the letters of disengagement was it stated that it was about money,” the source said.

The presidency says the claim by Matthew Kukah, Catholic bishop of Sokoto diocese, that only Christian schools are affected by insecurity is false. In his address to the United States Congress Commission, Kukah had criticised the Buhari administration for failing to address insecurity. He also accused Buhari of showing preference to people of his religion, which according to him, has worsened the level of rivalry between Christians and Muslims. But reacting in a statement on Sunday, Garba Shehu, presidential spokesman, said Kukah is trying to sow discord and strife among Nigerians. Shehu also described Kukah’s claim that only Christian schools are being targeted by bandits or terrorists as untrue. “With due respect to the esteemed position he holds, the Bishop’s assertion that only Christian schools are being targeted by bandits or terrorists is not supported by the facts on the ground,” he said. “It is sad to say but also true that victims of crime, kidnapping, banditry and terrorism cut across all strata of the society. Sad but true that Kankara students in Katsina State were stolen by bandits of the same Islamic faith as those they took away. “The same may be true of those who are still holding the 134 students of the Islamic School at Tegina in Niger State. The nation witnessed the sad incident of the female students abducted by bandits at Jangebe in Zamfara State and the over 100 predominantly Muslim students of the Federal Government Girls College Birnin Yauri in Kebbi State who are currently in captivity — and the nation’s security agencies are hard at work to release them unharmed. “The attack on Christian students is sad and unacceptable; so also is the abduction of students of other faiths. The claim that only Christian schools are being targeted is totally untrue.” According to the presidential spokesman, it is unfortunate and disappointing for citizens of Nigeria to bear witness to “one of their churchmen” castigating their country in front of representatives of a foreign parliament. “Only this government has put forward the first and singular plan in nearly a century to address herder-farmer challenges — a fact recognised by international NGOs, including the International Crisis Group. To declare to a foreign audience that this government does nothing is an incredible falsehood,” Shehu said. “There is no bias in this government when the president is northern and Muslim, the vice president southern and Christian, and the cabinet equally balanced between the two religions. “But neither is there anything in our Constitution to state that political posts must be apportioned according to ethnicity or faith. “It takes a warped frame of mind for a critic to believe ethnicity is of primary importance in public appointments. It is yet more troubling to hear a churchman isolating one group for criticism purely on ethnic lines.” The presidential spokesman advised Nigerians to live in harmony, despite their religious differences. He said no one gains but the evil doers, “when we divide our ranks according to ethnicity and religion in confronting them”. “The bandit, kidnapper and terrorist are the enemies of the people who should be confronted in unison,” he added. Meanwhile, this not the first time Kukah will tackle the presidency over issues of security and national development. In his Easter message earlier in the year, Kukah described Nigeria as a “killing field” under the Buhari administration, saying both the government and the citizens have become helpless as criminals continue to cause havoc in parts of the country. But the presidency tackled Kukah, saying “he did not speak like a man of God”.