Popular Nigerian prophet reveals N1 billion loan offer from bank

Prophet Israel Ogundipe, a prominent figure in the Celestial Church of Christ and founder of Genesis Global Ministry in Lagos, recently disclosed that a bank offered him a loan of N1 billion to expand his ministry.

Ogundipe shared this revelation during an appearance on a show hosted by popular Nigerian On-Air Personality, Ifedayo Olarinde, also known as Daddy Freeze, on Tuesday.

According to Ogundipe, the bank, which he chose not to name, provided him with details of other churches that had taken out similar loans. He mentioned that some of these churches had borrowed amounts ranging from N3 billion to N4 billion to fund their activities.

“A bank approached me two months ago with an offer of a N1 billion loan,” Ogundipe recounted. “When I asked them what the loan was for, they explained that they were aware of churches obtaining such loans and believed I would be able to repay it because of the size of my ministry.”

He continued, “They mentioned that the repayment would be tied to the revenue generated from revivals, crusades, and other events. They even listed some churches that had taken out loans ranging from N3 billion to N4 billion, explaining that those churches never stop hosting conferences, crusades, and revivals as a way to generate funds to pay back the loans.”

Thediscovererng.com reports that Ogundipe’s remarks come after his 2020 conviction for defrauding a London-based architect and converting her property for personal use. He was arraigned on a seven-count charge that included stealing, unlawful conversion of property, forgery, and fraudulently collecting sums of N14 million and £12,000 from the victim between 2002 and 2005.