The founder of Love World, also known as Christ Embassy, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome, has revealed why some gospel artists left the church.

Prominent singers such as Sinach, Frank Edwards, Joe Praize, and Eben have exited the ministry.

For a long time, speculation surrounded their departures.

Many claimed they left due to restrictions on ministering outside Christ Embassy.

For instance, as Sinach’s international music ministry grew, her presence at Christ Embassy became scarce, which allegedly displeased Oyakhilome.

It is believed that Oyakhilome asked her to return and actively participate in the church’s singing ministry.

In a recent video circulating online, the pastor said: “Why did it happen? The church was turned into a party place, not a place of prayer where God’s word was truly celebrated. They were not soul winners; they led praise in church, and when it was time for prayers, they were gone.”

The cleric further lamented that worship in the church had changed, becoming more about personal celebrations than true worship. He criticised the musicians for commercialising their talents, charging fees for their performances, and allowing secular influences to infiltrate the church’s music.

“I did at the beginning and celebrated them, but when I changed, they refused to change with me, so I had to let them go.

“God was getting my attention, telling me this was not the way. I told them the Lord wanted us to do the right thing.

“They had become too popular, and because they were making even little money… do they know what big money is? The little money they were making was too attractive to them, so they didn’t want to follow me. So they made a detour. I hope they all repent. They are not worship leaders,” he stated.

[Dailypost]

Nigerians seeking accommodation in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, are not having the best of time.

House agents are said to have turned the experience into a nightmare.

Abuja is known for its beautiful landscape, tree-lined boulevards and bustling metropolis. It is the seat of Nigeria’s administrative and political power.

Home to various embassies, government parastatals, private companies and universities, among other amenities like stadiums, hotels and an airport. Abuja embodies the promise of a better life for many migrants who flock to the city in search of greener pastures.

However, findings by DAILY POST revealed that, for those who seek shelter away from home, the dream can quickly turn into a nightmare.

The housing market in Abuja has become a minefield where unsuspecting renters fall victim to the deceitful tactics of housing agents, who exploit their desperation.

The government and private estate developers have not been able to close the gap between supply and demand, resulting in poorly constructed buildings.

Hence, the pressure on infrastructure has overstretched the city, forcing many to the neighbouring states such as Nasarawa and Niger states.

Not only is it a problem to find affordable housing but the cost of a home in Abuja is also way higher than its monetary value, which includes an incredibly long period of hunting and, for most people, the physical and mental stress of choosing between waterlogged estates or a house unreasonably far from their workplace.

However, that is only a tip of the challenge as the road from inspection to final payment is lined with many crooked agents.

DAILY POST gathered that it has become compulsory to pay an inspection fee when searching for an apartment in Abuja.

It has also been reported that they influence house owners into jerking up their rent.

Speaking to DAILY POST, Abdul Abubakar narrated the number of times he was duped by a supposed agent in his quest to get an apartment.

“The number of times I have been scammed is alarming. Some agents have turned this practice into a business, where they collect fees from multiple people under false pretenses.

“On several occasions, I was taken to view an apartment and charged an inspection fee, only to discover that the apartment had already been rented out to someone else.

“Yet, these agents continue to bring apartment seekers to view the property and charge them,” he said.

Also speaking, Mike Okonkwo, who moved to Abuja last year, said he eagerly began his search for a one-bedroom apartment, describing his experience with housing agents as a far cry from what he had expected.

He said, “My worst mistake was allowing my desperation to get the better of me when I eventually paid a commitment fee for a property based solely on the agent’s description and photos.

“It turned out to be a disaster: the property was in a dire state with damp walls and broken facilities in the kitchen and bathroom.”

On her part, Amina Sule bemoaned how house agents have almost become predators feeding fat on their prey, expressing disappointment on how things have turned out in Nigeria.

“It is incredibly disappointing to see how everything in this country becomes an opportunity for scam. Nigerians need to do better.

“I have found myself in several verbal arguments with these scammers. The situation is frustrating, especially when you’re trying to find a place to live and instead, you are met with deceit and exploitation,” she lamented.

According to another victim of house agents exploitation, Kehinde Adeoye, the house market is rife with scams and the house agent is the latest cash cow in Abuja, adding that the lack of regulations governing the housing market in Abuja and its environs has made it easy for the agents to operate with impunity, leaving tenants with little recourse when they are victimised.

Again, Anniefiok Essien, who hails from Akwa-Ibom state but moved to Abuja to earn a living, said his experience with Abuja housing agents had been very unpleasant, revealing that the agents abandoned him to his fate after renting out a two-bedroom apartment in a storey-building with damp walls.

“My experience has been disappointing, to say the least. I moved into my current house six months ago after paying 20 per cent to agents who shared the profit among themselves in my presence.

“My house is in Mararaba and it is a two-bedroomed apartment.

“The rent was N850,000. The agents charged me an additional N150,000 for the house.

“I have yet to recover all that money because they have not fulfilled their promise to me. The kitchen is in bad shape. I have used my money to renovate the house, yet they swore they will use part of the 20 per cent to offset the bills.

“Just last week, after accepting that it is a waste of time waiting for them to fix some of the bad items, I coughed up N30,000 to fix the doors. The caretaker and the agent are all the same.

“During the rainy season last year, the walls got soaked in water. I am talking about a storey-building. God forbid that anything happens,’’ he lamented.

Narrating his own ordeal, Solomon Ogwuche described how desperate Abuja house agents could be, especially insisting to collect inspection or viewing fees.

“I had one agent who gave me a hard time because I refused to view an apartment without first seeing a video of it.

“I didn’t want to waste my time or money on a viewing fee for an apartment I wouldn’t even like. He insisted that I didn’t need to see a video and that I should just come, pay and view it. His attitude changed entirely when I stood my ground, revealing how desperate they are to secure the fee without any genuine service,” he narrated.

Also speaking to DAILY POST is a couple, Judith and Ameh Peter, who said house agents frustrated them immediately they moved to Abuja after their wedding, stating that they also used several apps to find a house in their preferred location.

“Agents built a house ‘on top of our heads.’ When we first came here after our marriage, we had a budget for the kind of house we were looking for but to our shock, it became a tall dream to find one.

“We used several housing apps to find a house targeting our preferred location. First of all, the agents charged us inspection fees. The lowest we paid was N3,500. Imagine paying about three of them daily. Their transportation fare was also on us.

“The annoying part was that many of the agents we met did not take us to the location we agreed on based on pictures and videos. We trusted them since they were from a registered platform.

“But it is either they told us the house key was with the main agent or that they had a better property to show us. At the end of the day, we had to pay outrageous charges to settle down and focus on other things,” the couple concluded.

According to Sunday John, who lent his voice to the house agent exploitation in Nigeria, “These agents are like bloodthirsty sharks, eager to exploit anyone they can.

“If you are seeking an apartment, be very aware and vigilant. It’s essential to protect yourself from being taken advantage of by these unscrupulous individuals.

“The practice of charging inspection fees in Abuja has become a way for housing agents to scam people out of their money.

“It’s vital for Nigerians to stand up against such practices and demand better.”

Ifeyinwa Ubani said she moved to Abuja following her transfer from Asaba, Delta state, explaining that she has been to no fewer than 20 properties before deciding to settle down in Karu, a suburb of Abuja

She said, “I can tell you that I have seen over 20 properties in this city before I finally paid for the present one in Karu.

“The agent charged me 20 per cent which he said included legal fees. Yet, we did not sign any contractual agreement with a lawyer or witness.

“He brought out an old form which required scanty details after I transferred the money to the landlord’s account. I was very disappointed. I had better expectations of Abuja.”

Another resident, Paul Igoche, who shared his horrible experiences with DAILY POST, narrated how six different people showed up when he was about to pay the rent of the apartment he acquired after a painful long search.

“During my house search, one agent decided to help me find a suitable apartment in one of the estates in federal housing, Lugbe.

“We toured many locations around Lugbe to find one. Each time I thought my struggles had come to an end, I realised that I had only just begun.

“Finally, when I was about to seal the accommodation deal, six people showed up, all claiming that they were the main agent.

“One said he had direct contact with the owner, and the other one said she was the one who convinced the landlord to bring down the rent because the facility was old.

“The one I contacted said he brought me to the property and convinced me to pay. It was very embarrassing. Everyone had a stake including those I had never met. You needed to see the entourage of agents that followed me,” he added.

On his part, Michael Akor said the gross illegalities being perpetrated by the middlemen (agents) have continued to bite potential tenants hard in their search for apartments in Abuja and its neighbouring localities.

Akor said their activities range from extortion of a high amount of money from potential tenants as agent fees and inspection fees, defrauding the potential tenants of their money without giving them a house, and sometimes, kidnapping the potential tenants.

“As a concerned citizen and a former victim of the current wave of illegalities of the house agents, I am lending my voice on the issue.

“The extortion has made acquisition of houses by tenants within the places under consideration a Herculean and risky venture, especially for low income earners.

“The high vulnerability of people to the fraudulent outings of these agents need to be looked into.

“A one-room self-contained house that used to be N70-80,000 around Mararaba now goes for between N250-350,000. On a normal level, the house owner charges N150,000, but the agents end up inflating it to N250-300,000. Some potential tenants get kidnapped in the process or get defrauded,” he stated.

He urged the government to take proactive measures to curtail the ugly trend by clamping down on the house agents to halt the illegality.

“There should be proper and favourable housing rules which should be tailored towards curtailing the excesses of house owners and agents.

“The agents and house owners should be strictly monitored to operate within the ambit of the law through proper license and certification.

“Potential tenants should also be highly cautious and put excess desperation aside when looking for a house.

“This will reduce their vulnerability to the fraudulent intentions of house agents and house owners.

“On this, payment should be made only after an intensive verification of the authentic details of the house.

“The government should also intensify its effort in providing affordable houses to low income earners through housing schemes,” he concluded.

[DailyPost]

On the backdrop of the inflationary pressure ravaging the economy, experts in the financial sector have said that the plan by the federal government to disburse cash palliatives to vulnerable families across the country is ill-informed and capable of stoking further inflation.

They also observed that the employment of the strategy by the previous administration failed to achieve the desired result, arguing that repetition of a failed strategy would not augur well for the economy.

Amidst the economic hardship in the country, fuelled by skyrocketing inflation and Naira devaluation, the federal government had revealed plans to distribute N75,000 cash transfer to an estimated 70 million “poorest of the poor” this year.

The measures, according to the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, was as part of President Bola Tinubu’s directive to address extreme poverty and create a more social safety net.

The ministry, according to Yilwatda, aimed to deploy the programme across all 36 states of the federation by the end of January 2025, targeting the registration of up to 18.1 million Nigerian households through the National Identity Number (NIN) system.

“We want to deploy by the end of January across 36 states to ensure we start harvesting the NIN number of up to 18.1 million Nigerian households that we need to capture as fast as possible so that we can make payment for them.

“The target of the president is that we should target 15 million households. And an average household is about 4 to 5. We are discussing here roughly about 70 million households with about N75,000 per person this year,” the minister noted.

But speaking with Saturday Vanguard, the experts opined that poverty was still rife in the country despite the deployment of cash sharing measures in the past. They said that the resulting inflation from the cash sharing initiative would hurt the economy

It will fuel inflation, foster dependency —Victor Chiazor, FSL Securities

Victor Chiazor, Head, Research, FSL Securities, argued that though the initiative would offer immediate financial relief, albeit minimally, it would foster the culture of dependency. He stated that a more sustainable approach would be to create access to cheap credit facilities and foster entrepreneurship to create jobs that stimulate local economies. “The plan to disburse cash palliatives to the poorest as a means of poverty alleviation is a commendable initiative, as it offers immediate financial relief.

Economically, it has the potential to stimulate aggregate demand and ease the immediate financial burden on vulnerable populations. However, concerns remain regarding its effectiveness, as it could contribute to inflation and foster dependency rather than sustainable economic empowerment,” he said. He stated that the initiative also has significant flaws, as the majority of the extreme poor remain unbanked, limiting the reach and effectiveness of the programme.

He remarked that the initiative could also serve as an opportunity to misappropriate funds by some of the political class.

“Furthermore, a similar approach was implemented by the previous administration, yet poverty levels remained largely unchanged, highlighting the need for a more impactful strategy. A more effective approach to poverty alleviation would be investing in human capital development like education and skill acquisition, enhancing access to quality healthcare, access to cheap credit facilities and fostering entrepreneurship to create jobs that stimulate local economies. These measures, if effectively implemented, would provide long-term economic benefits, ensuring self-sufficiency rather than short-term financial relief “ Chiazor added.

It will increase consumption amidst supply gap —David Adonri, Highcap Securities

Speaking in the same vein, David Adonri, Vice Chairman, Highland Securities, said: “Cash palliative and trader money presumably distributed to alleviate poverty and empower petty traders by the failed administration of President Muhammadu Buhari was a conduit pipe used by persons in that administration to loot the national treasury. What President Tinubu is now planning will consume N525 billion which will further damage the financial health of the federal government, which is currently in an excruciating debt trap.

Nigeria is a poor country without the financial wherewithal to undertake such an exercise without hurting the economy. The initiative is worthless as the amount proposed cannot feed a poor recipient for more than two days. It is wasteful and capable of increasing consumption amidst a huge supply gap which may fuel inflation. Whoever thought of this idea does not have the interest of the economy at heart. It is a politically motivated policy which has no benefit to the economy.

The only way to alleviate poverty is to invest in jobs that offer gainful employment. If the N525 billion about to be needlessly lavished and probably embezzled by the Federal Government is used to support production, it will have multiplier effect on the economy in terms of closing the supply gap that is fueling inflation, creating wealth and generating massive productive employment for poor and rich people.”

To address the issue of mass poverty in Nigeria, Adonri emphasised the need for the government to mobilize all the domestic factors of production to build a self-reliant, self-regenerating, and an import independent producing economy that would generate mass employment and maximize domestic wealth creation. He noted that without a secured and enabling environment, production is not feasible.

It is weaponization —Renaissance Africa

In his own submission, Ejike Nwuba, CEO, The RenaissanceAfrica, said that giving out paltry “handouts” to indigent people “has never and can never ameliorate poverty. It is a total sham and it is a total waste of resources,” he said.

According to him, “The implication is that our political actors are, inadvertently, weaponizing poverty to keep the people in their stranglehold.

If we are sincere about alleviating poverty, we must teach our people how to fish instead of giving them fish to survive on. The government should invest in quality education, capacity building, vocational skill acquisition, power, infrastructural development, incentives for small and medium scale businesses, and implementing policies to improve ease of doing business in Nigeria if they are serious about ameliorating poverty”.

It’s not sustainable — Eze Onyekpere

The Director of Centre for Social Justice, Eze Onyekpere contended that there was nothing wrong in distributing palliatives but the manner in which the government is going about it is wrong. He said, “The first challenge is to understand the concept of the proposal by the Federal Government in the name of poverty alleviation which is called a palliative. The dictionary meaning of a palliative is ‘of a medicine or form of medical care relieving symptoms without dealing with the cause of the condition’. Thus, we are not discussing attacking the root causes of poverty but merely attacking its symptoms.

“The second challenge is the lack of credible, transparent and verifiable register of poor Nigerians. What we have is an opaque manipulated register only known to those in the corridors of power and serving their interests which incidentally do not coincide with the interests of the poorest of the poor. A credible register should be open to the public for scrutiny but the current register is not open.

There is not one iota of guarantee that the money will reach the poor. The third challenge is that you do not use borrowed money for palliatives and distribution to the poor. Such an exercise is done from the proceeds of savings and income earned from retained revenue.

It is not sustainable to borrow for such exercise and this raises the poser; how will the nation pay back these borrowed funds? To confirm the lack of transparency in this exercise and similar exercises in the past, there is a clear lack of impact from previous rounds of cash distribution.

There is no empirical basis to determine impact. This is a clear waste of resources which could have been channeled to growing and developing sustainable means of livelihood in agriculture, skills and other value adding interventions.”

Palliative should reduce cost of living — Aigbe

Senior Program Officer at the Centre for Development of Democracy, CDD, Aigbe Austin, said, “If you ask the Nigerian government today where the poorest of the poor are located, they’ll tell you, in rural areas.

But we don’t even know where our poor people are located, we don’t have them synchronized in a database that we can say there are 10 people with disabilities in this area or there are 10 people who earn less than a dollar a day that we want to reach. We’ve seen the corruption in the so-called cash transfer in the previous administration. Even at the commencement of Tinubu’s administration, his own minister was involved in the same charade of corruption.

I think what should be palliative is to reduce the cost of living. It is wrong to just hand over money to people without earning it, even if it means digging the ground and refilling it and paying them for it. Any money handed over freely does not really produce any results.

The Executive Director, Global Rights Nigeria, Abiosun Bayeiwu, asserted that, “The promise of N75,000 cash transfers to 70 million Nigerians may sound ambitious, but experience has shown that one-time or short-term financial interventions rarely create lasting economic change. Poverty is not just about a lack of cash, it is about a lack of opportunity. To put things in perspective, in 2019, the TraderMoni and MarketMoni schemes were launched, offering small cash loans to petty traders.

The hope was that these funds would stimulate micro-businesses and lift people out of poverty. However, without long-term economic reforms, the impact faded quickly. Today, the situation is even more dire. Inflation is above 28 per cent, the Naira is unstable, and fuel subsidy removal has worsened hardship. You need to understand that more than 60 per cent of the population are multidimensionally poor.

The core problem lies in the structural issues that make poverty hydra-headed and self-replicating. How far can N75,000 go when a 50kg bag of rice now costs about N60,000? Even if every naira reaches its intended recipient, the relief will be short-lived. Without policies that drive industrialization, job creation, and access to affordable healthcare, education, and security to ensure their stability, these types of intervention will, at best, provide momentary relief that may last at best – a week, but will continue to leave millions in the same cycle of hardship”.

On how the cash palliatives will really get to the targeted poorest of the poor Nigerians, considering the pervasive corruption, she said, “History gives us little reason for optimism. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the government announced cash transfers to the most vulnerable. But there is no evidence that its intended recipients, those in rural areas and urban slums–the real “poorest of the poor”—ever received a kobo. Instead, cases of ghost beneficiaries, political favouritism, and outright embezzlement marred the process. Similarly, in 2022, the National Social Investment Program (NSIP), meant to provide financial aid to the needy, was riddled with scandals. Even the Humanitarian Minister at the time, Sadiya Umar Farouq, admitted that funds had been mismanaged, yet no real accountability followed.

“If this new N75,000 transfer programme lacks a foolproof distribution mechanism, it risks becoming another opportunity for elite capture, where politically connected individuals siphon funds while the intended beneficiaries remain neglected. Who is verifying the beneficiaries? Who is monitoring the disbursement? If these questions remain unanswered, we may simply be watching another cycle of economic injustice unfold.

However, she recommended that, “The government must stop looking for cheap scores and instead address multidimensional poverty by investing in and strengthening structures for human capital development; give communities quality schools, ensuring housing security, access to quality healthcare.

“Ramp up infrastructure for businesses to thrive – electricity, access to fuel, transportation network; Create jobs and ensure access to credit. Build capacity and support for small businesses. Nigerians are not lazy, they want to work and earn a honest living; Curb insecurity which is at the heart of Nigeria’s hunger crisis; Ensure transparency through biometric registration and real-time public tracking of disbursed funds.

Decentralize fund distribution to prevent bureaucratic bottlenecks and ensure money gets to the grassroots; Implement independent monitoring by civil society organizations, not just government agencies. Otherwise, this will be another expensive political gesture that fades into history, leaving poverty untouched.”

It can’t significantly reduce poverty — ActionAid

The Country Director, ActionAid Nigeria, AAN, Andrew Mamedu, expressed concern that the Federal Government’s ¦ 75,000 conditional cash transfer scheme can not significantly reduce poverty across the country. Mamedu said: “Past social protection programs in Nigeria have failed to yield significant reductions in poverty. Given the lack of structural economic reforms and the continuous rise in poverty, there is skepticism about the transformative impact of this scheme.

The ¦ 75,000 conditional cash transfer scheme, while commendable in its intent, offers limited potential to significantly reduce poverty in Nigeria. With households receiving ¦ 25,000 monthly, this amount is grossly inadequate to cover even basic needs given the current inflation rate of 34.8% and high living costs. Most Nigerian households require much more to meet essential expenses such as food, healthcare, and education.

The cash transfer serves as a temporary measure rather than a sustainable solution to poverty. While it may provide some immediate relief, the lack of integration with long-term empowerment programs (e.g., skills acquisition or livelihood initiatives) reduces its potential to uplift households permanently. Despite previous social protection programs, poverty remains widespread and continues to rise.

“The question remains: If these programs have not yielded significant improvements, what impact will this cash transfer scheme have? Without clear, tangible results, it’s difficult to determine whether such initiatives are effectively addressing poverty or merely offering temporary relief. To truly address poverty, the program must evolve into a comprehensive social safety net that includes livelihood empowerment, job creation, and efforts to curb inflation.

“Corruption remains a major concern that could undermine the effectiveness of the cash transfer scheme. Despite the well-intentioned goals of the cash transfer program, pervasive corruption in Nigeria raises concerns about whether the funds will reach the intended beneficiaries.

Previous initiatives have faced challenges related to mismanagement and fraud, leading to skepticism about the current program’s integrity.
Recently, there have been allegations that certain state governments and politicians in Nigeria have been clamouring to be given the opportunity to generate the beneficiary list and have been submitting fraudulent beneficiary lists for the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program.

These claims suggest that individuals who are not genuinely impoverished are being included, while the truly needy are excluded. Such actions, if verified, exacerbate corruption within the system by diverting funds away from the intended recipients, thereby undermining the program’s credibility and effectiveness.

“The National Social Register (NSR), which is supposed to serve as the basis for identifying beneficiaries, has faced credibility issues, including concerns about data accuracy and potential political manipulation. These issues can result in the exclusion of genuinely poor households or the inclusion of ineligible ones. But we hope the current Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction Minister, Nentawe Yilwatda will uphold his words when he said they won’t allow politicians to compromise the cash transfer register.

So, to ensure that the palliatives reach the intended beneficiaries, the government needs to engage local communities, civil society organizations, and credible NGOs in program implementation and monitoring to ensure fairness and equitable distribution”.

[Vanguard]

US President Donald Trump has revoked the security clearance of Joe Biden, his predecessor.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said revoking Biden’s security clearance and ending intelligence briefings to the former president is payback for how he was treated in the wake of the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol.

“There is no need for Joe Biden to continue receiving access to classified information. Therefore, we are immediately revoking Joe Biden’s security clearances, and stopping his daily intelligence briefings,” Trump said.

“He set this precedent in 2021, when he instructed the intelligence community (IC) to stop the 45th president of the United States (me!) from accessing details on national security, a courtesy provided to former presidents.”

Former US presidents usually receive intelligence briefings long after leaving office.

REVENGE MISSION

In 2021, Biden ended intelligence briefings to Trump after the then ex-president was accused of inciting the January 6 insurrection.

Biden had pointed at Trump’s “erratic behaviour” as reason for the revocation.

“I just think that there is no need for him to have the intelligence briefings. What value is giving him an intelligence briefing? What impact does he have at all, other than the fact he might slip and say something?” Biden had said.

Trump’s decision to revoke Biden’s security clearance is the latest in a revenge tour of Washington as promised during his campaign.

The president has revoked the security clearance of some ex-federal government officials who criticised him — including those of Anthony Fauci, former infectious disease expert; and Mike Pompeo, his former secretary of state.

The US president has also promised to fire some FBI agents who worked on the cases of the January 6 rioters.

“I would fire some of them because they were corrupt. I have no doubt about that,” Trump said.

“I got to know a lot about that business and that world. We had some corrupt agents and those people are gone or they would be gone. And it would be done quickly and very surgically.”

Trump previously revoked security clearances of more than 50 former intelligence officials. They had signed a letter in 2020 wherein it was stated that the Hunter Biden laptop saga bore the imprimatur of a “Russian information operation”.

In a pre-emptive move, Biden issued an unconditional pardon for Hunter in December. The departing president had also pardoned his siblings and their spouses in a bid to keep them away from Trump’s vengeful grasp.

The US president is offering Biden-era federal employees a “buyout plan” — which would see them embark on compulsory paid leave till September or risk being fired.

Trump has vowed to shrink the size of the federal workforce and save millions of dollars in taxpayer funds, a task he is carrying out alongside Elon Musk, the Tesla CEO.

[TheCable]