Charlez Blog

Some weeks back when Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor was reacting to comments that trailed his private jet birthday gift, he pointed out that his ministry has been giving back to the society in many ways, just that Nigerians may not know how much they do because it’s never really publicised. Probably to douse the doubts of those who didn’t believe him, Pastor Oritsejafor’s Word of Life Bible Church in collaboration with its subsidiary, Eagle Flight Micro-Finance Bank has given out cars, tricycles, and grinding machines to the poor.
The event marked the 7th anniversary of a yearly poverty alleviation programme of Eagle Flight Micro-Finance Bank, solely owned by Word of Life Bible Church, founded by current National President, Christian Association of Nigeria, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, and it comes up every 26th of December.

In all, six brand new Hyundai cars, 15 tricycles, 100 grinding machines, 3.8 KVA power generating plant, Omega gas cookers, three deep freezers, a set of crystal glass dinning set, 32 LG LCD Tv set, washing machines and 200 bags of rice as consolation prices, amongst other items were given to the needy through raffle draw.
Among those in the crowd who had come with expectation, and who was not disappoin-ted at the occasion was Mrs. Osatemu Tejiri Jennifer. Through the draw, she became the first car owner to the bewilderment of her husband, Mr. Osatemu. The 31-year old mother of one was short of words when she found her way to the stage as she placed her two hands on her chest, unable to speak for several moments over fate that had befallen her.
When she finally found her voice, Osatemu, a teacher in a private primary school in Okwagbe, one of the riverine communities around Warri, was full of appreciation to Pastor Oritsejafor in particular and by extension God, for the car gift which she disclosed, would be deployed into commercial venture to generate income for her family.
Emmanuel Tijere, 46, was until recently had fed his family with proceeds from ridding okada in Effurun, until November 1, when the Delta State government outlawed the ubiquitous motorcycle in Asaba, Warri and Effurun area of the state. After the ban he had no visible means of keeping his family until a friend told him of the poverty alleviation programme of Word of Life.
He promptly applied and won a tricycle for which he was very grateful to the first couple of Word of Life Bible Church. The member of Deeper Christrian Life Bible Church, Effurun District, said: “I thank Papa Ayo and Mama Helen for the generosity. I thank God for the using Pastor Ayo to bless the people of this area.
I never thought that things like this can be true. I thought that if it is true it is only for members of Word of Life Bible Church. But what I have seen today, I can boldly say that what they are doing here is real and not one of those boju boju thing that people do these days.”
Speaking at the event held at the instance of the Eagle Flight Micro-Finance Bank, National President of Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria and Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, said the gifts were his own way of giving back to the society, especially the less privileged; noting that the essence of wealth was all about sharing with the needy. He appealed to governments at all levels in the country as well as corporate organisations to be more proactive in coming up with similar empowerment programmes that could help cut down the poverty rate in the country.
He said the level of poverty in the country prompted his intervention and tasked churches to start looking towards such direction. While stressing that the responsibility of government at all levels was to cater for the welfare and security of the citizenry, he regretted that some companies operating in the country and in particular, were making money without giving back to their host communities.
“Why is it that wealthy Nigerians and corporate organisations cannot do much more than what the church is doing in terms of bringing succour to the people? Is it the church that people should really be concerned about? There are institutions, corporate bodies, industrial establishments that are entrenched in different communities and are making millions of naira. You want to look at how much some of these companies are putting back into the communities; it would be ridiculous how meager it is”, he lamented.
“I will personally use this opportunity to challenge corporate organisations, micro-finance and commercial banks and all different kinds of organisations to look again at this very important issue. If we have done this little and another does the same thing, when you add all of them together, you will be surprised how many Nigerians will be out of the poverty level”, he noted.