Unidentified man pays N42m tithe to a local church in Benue

A man whose identity has been shielded
by a local church in Makurdi, has
shocked church members with a tithe
offering of N42 million.
Investigations by the News Agency of
Nigeria (NAN) in Makurdi revealed that
the money was paid into the UBA
account of the NKST Church High level
Makurdi
Although the resident pastor of the
church, Dr. Frederick Ikyaan, initially
denied knowledge of such offering, a
copy of the church’s quarterly financial
report, covering the months of January
– March, confirmed the payment of
N42million tithe to the church.
The report showed that the lodgement
was the highest single offering from an
individual for the quarter. The money
was paid into the church’s account in
January.
The breakdown of the church’s financial
report showed an income of N56.2
million and an expenditure of N33.7
million within the same period..
The church’s records also showed that
out of the income, N44.6 million was
generated from tithe, while a single
person accounted for N42 million.
Reacting to the financial report, the
pastor said his initial denial was based
on the allegations that the donor was an
appointee of the Benue State
Government.
”I still stand by my words that the
person that gave us that money is not an
appointee of the state government. In
fact, he does not even stay in Benue but
is an indigene of the state.”
He said there was nothing wrong with
the offering and insisted that the church
has nothing to hide.
Meanwhile, the tithe offering has
stirred controversy in a state struggling
to pay the salaries of workers.

Public discussion centred on the
legitimacy of the donors income, as a
man who pays N42m to a church as
tithe must have made an income of
N420 million in the month that he paid.
The NKST Church is an abbreviation for
‘Non go Kristu U Sudan hen Tiv’,
meaning the Church of Christ Amongst
the Tiv.