Religion

GENERAL Overseer of Omega Power Ministries (OPM), Apostle Chibuzor Chinyere, has denied abandoning the family of late Deborah Samuel, after relocating them to Port Harcourt from Sokoto.

Samuel was brutally murdered in Sokoto by an angry mob of Muslim students after she was accused of insulting Prophet Mohammed.

Chinyere denied the accusation at a news conference in Port Harcourt on Sunday, while reacting to allegations levelled against the church’s philanthropic works in recent times.

The conference had the parents and siblings of the slain Deborah in attendance.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that Deborah’s parents, Emmanuel and Alheri Samuel were recently quoted as saying they were abandoned by the pastor after he relocated them from Sokoto.

They said the 14 self-contained estate and car presented to them were for media hype while the restaurant given to Alheri to support the family had since collapsed.

“It is true that the OPM founder paid rent for us when we were relocated. But right now, the rent has expired and the landlord has told us to renew the rent or leave.

“Initially, he (Chinyere) used to call to check on us from time to time, but after that, we have been struggling on our own,” they were quoted as saying at the time.

But Chinyere described as untrue claims that the family of late Deborah was not cared for after they relocated, adding that his action saved Nigeria from imminent religious crises.

According to him, the recent barrage of attacks on him and distortion of events was the handiwork of people jealous of his philanthropic works on the less privileged.

Chinyere said “after I invited and picked them (Deborah family) from the airport, we went straight to the estate but discovered the estate was empty.

“Considering what they had gone through, we decided against putting them in the estate alone as there were no tenants at the time.

“This was the reason why I paid one year rent to secure another accommodation, so that they can have neighbours. I even furnished the accommodation,” he said.

The cleric said that after the rent expired that he expected them to move into the estate he gifted to them; manage it and collect rent from tenants living in the mini flats.

“So, after the rent expired, someone went and interviewed them and said they were promised a house but now lived in a rented house.

“As I am talking to you now, they are living in the estate I gifted them and surrounded by tenants while the car has been restored to good condition,” he added.

Chinyere wondered if the parents wanted him to visit them to supervise their business or manage the estate, restaurant and taxi business after giving it to them.

On Happi Boys, He said he had forgiven and withdrawn the curses he laid on them after the duo alleged the pastor abandoned them while on scholarships in Northern Cyrus.

On their part, both Emmanuel and Alheri said the reporter who interviewed them twisted and quoted them out of context.

They said that contrary to what had been circulated in the media, that they, including their six children, had been well treated.

“We can also confirm that we live in the estate and have received rent to the tune of N800,000,” the parents told reporters. (NAN)

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Tags: Apostle Chibuzor Chinyere