Olumide Emmanuel, a well-known cleric, has responded angrily to accusations that churches use offerings to build schools that many of their members purportedly cannot afford.

In a recent statement, the pastor defended religious organizations, claiming that a number of churches have made infrastructural advancements that governments have been unable to provide for decades.

Addressing critics, he said:

“Someone said they used church money to start a school, and the church members cannot afford it. Let me help your foolishness. Many of these pastors and churches that you are speaking against, what they are doing, your presidents and your governors have never done it in almost 60 years.”

He cited well-known church-owned towns like Redemption Camp and Canaanland, pointing out that they have better infrastructure and reliable electricity than many other regions of the nation.

Pastor Emmanuel further explained that once church funds are invested in establishing a school, the institution becomes a business entity that must sustain itself financially.

“When we carry church money to start a school, once we release that money into the school, the school becomes an entity. That is what we call capital for starting a business. That school must become self-sufficient, or else it will die a natural death.”

According to him, such institutions cannot continuously rely on church offerings, as they are expected to generate revenue to pay staff salaries and maintain operations.

“That school must pay salary to all the professors. So you mean every Sunday we should now collect school offering for salary? No, the money we have put there must be used in such a way that it can continue to run the school,” he conluded.

His remarks come amid ongoing debates sparked by human rights activist, Omoyele Sowore, who recently criticised the accessibility of church-owned universities, particularly Covenant University.