Many have criticized the Pastor saying the acquisition of such an expensive item is an exploitation of members of his church. Since the criticisms started, the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Pastor Oritsejafor, had not given any response. However, he broke his silence in an interview with Vanguard speaking about the private jet.
He narrated some difficult experiences he’d had when he travelled to preach the gospel further justifying the importance of the private jet.
“You may have heard me speak about my trip to Indonesia, to Jakarta. In fact, it wasn’t even Jakarta I was going to, but I had to stay inside an airport in Jakarta for five hours to wait for my flight, to get to the very city I was going. I was only going to preach for two hours there. I flew from Lagos to Dubai and I spent over three hours, changed flight to fly to Jakarta and then stayed five hours at the airport just to catch a flight to where I was going to, where I was to preach for just two hours.
“And after everything, I got a flight from that place again to Jakarta, stayed at the airport again for another five hours, then flew into Dubai, stayed again at the airport for another three hours before I flew into Lagos. It took me four days to make a journey to preach for two hours. I’m a human being and I am not getting younger every day.
“And locally, it is worse, for instance, the acting General Secretary of CAN lost his father in a place outside Uyo, Akwa Ibom State and I had to be there. I preached in a place in Lagos on a Friday and needed to be back to Warri on a Saturday, but at the end of the day, the plane that would have taken me was no where.
“I had to charter a plane for N3.5 million to take me to Uyo, waited for me to finish and then take me back to Warri. Two weeks ago, a young pastor in Port Harcourt built a new church and had been on me all this while to come and dedicate the church and suddenly from no where, there was this flood that cut off the road to Port Harcourt.
“There is no road now to Port Harcourt. If you want to go by road now, it takes you up to 12 hours to get to Port Harcourt and I had to preach in Port Harcourt, I had to preach in Lagos, I had to preach in Abuja and other places. Finally, I was able to find my way to Port Harcourt, it was on a Saturday.
“I had to get to Warri that Saturday so as to be able to preach the next day, Sunday. Do you know what I had to finally do? I chartered a helicopter that cost me N2 million to drop me in Warri. When they dropped me here, ah, I can’t tell you how I felt that I had to part with that sum. But I had promised the young man and the church and if I had said no, will it be right? I can go on and on and on.”
He said he didn’t even know the church members who donated the jet but that they constituted a committee for the purpose and that his wife worked closely with the committee.
According to him, they decided to donate the jet after they became aware of the suffering he was undergoing whenever he travelled in and out of Nigeria to peach the gospel. “They feel the pain I go through and they feel painful for not seeing me most of the time,” he explained. “They don’t like it, they are troubled.”
He concluded by saying the plane was not a luxury but a necessity. “This is my story about the plane. And I’m not ashamed to own a plane, I think it is a necessity and not a luxury for some of us deeply involved in the work of God to own planes.”
U got ur point
With this explanation, the Pastor shouldn’t be crucified for owning a jet. Honestly I pity the man for having to part with N3.5m and another N2m to transport himself just twice to do his work as a preacher. Since this means of transport (the jet) he now has is a necessity, the man realy needs it to do his work. Other preachers who travel round the world to do their work realy need jets to ease transportation.
Mr Richard, save ur pity, nothing justifies his owning a Jet! what an excuse, as a man of (god) he should know it is not an easy task. and pls what kind of hair cut is dat? some with curly hair and so on. Christ said to Peter ” if you love me, feed my sheep/flock” but this time around the sheep/flock is doing the feeding. Christ was a humble man while on earth, He owned nothing and He was not materialistic. THEY SHOULD ALL CLIMB DOWN THEIR HIGH HORSE AND IMITATE JESUS CHRIST. Their congreagtion is living in abject poverty while they are buying jet. This is arrant nonsense.
That’s definitely not a perfect excuse, doesn’t he own branches of churches at these places he travels to? Wht about the pastors of these branches, what’s their job? Oritsejafor isn’t and shouldn’t be the only heading his other branches becos its not a family business. He should delegate pple and assign them responsibilities. He rightly said he’s not getting any younger… What if he dies tomorrow? Oh! The will take over abi? Pastor O, you’re only doing this work for ur own selfish interest,.. FLAT OUT!!! Jesus is the head of the church, nobody else owns it. Not even you!!!
@ janny o,y dnt U̶̲̥̅̊ find out facts b4 makin foolish conclusions.jst so U̶̲̥̅̊ ķŇώ pastor ayo’s church v only 1 branch nd ΐ†ƨ IN̶̲̅ lagos nd his members Я̵ nt complaining dat D̶̲̥̅̊ε̲̣̣̣̥γ̲̣̣̥ bought him a jet,so focus on Ųя life nd †ђε next time sme1 gvs U̶̲̥̅̊ a gift on any ocassion nd 4 any reason reject it or sell it nd gv †ђε money 2 †ђε needy afterall U̶̲̥̅̊ as a chrustian U̶̲̥̅̊ Я̵ also a man/woman of. God Ƨ̷̜̩̌̋o shut up nd contribute ur quota
That’s definitely not a perfect excuse, doesn’t he own branches of churches at these places he travels to? Wht about the pastors of these branches, what’s their job? Oritsejafor isn’t and shouldn’t be the only heading his other branches becos its not a family business. He should delegate pple and assign them responsibilities. He rightly said he’s not getting any younger… What if he dies tomorrow? Oh! The son or wife takes over, just like Benson Idahosa abi? Pastor O, you’re only doing this work for ur own selfish interest,.. FLAT OUT!!! Jesus is the head of the church, nobody else owns it. Not even you!!!
@janny and amina I dnt expect u to understand, never judge a man unless u’ve walked half a mile in his shoes. It was a gift, are u saying he shd’ve rejected d gift? Common be reasonable here, d man has put in 40yrs of his life to service of God & d church, there’s there4 no amount of money or gift (even of a jet) could pay 4 this service.
So he is expecting his reward on earth abi? My dear Steve, open ur eyes i dnt need to wear his shoes to call a spade a spade, go to these churches and see the level of poverty among its members, some are dying slowly, according to Fela- Dying and Smiling. Christ showed a self sacrifising spirit and he urged his followers to do likewise. Imagine Christ wash the feet of his apostles, how many of these so cald men can do it today? IT IS NOT AND WILL NOT BE AN EXCUSE FOE HIM TO WON A JET, LIKE JANNY SAID, IT IS NOT A FAMILY BUSINESS, HE SHOULD APPOINT OTHER PEOPLE TO HEAD THOSE BRANCHES
Same reply goes 2 U̶̲̥̅̊@ Amina
Let’s not 4get dat jesus who owned all dis world ѡåƨ d 1st 2 run dis Race on earth. He travel 4rm 1 city 2 anoda, witout flying on Air. Am nt judging becos am nt christ. Y all dis private jet of a tin. Nigerias are leaving in abject poverty lets watch our ways
What an anacondaic game-sermon dear pastor! Do you need to travel to all these places/parishes in Nigeria in order to administer to the people and preach the gospel. Does your faithful’s going to heaven depend on you only preaching to him/her. Why do we have bishops, priests, deacons, even seminarians in the catholic church. By giving these flimsy excuses, you have already made yourself indispensable for those longing for the Kingdom. Reading from your excuses, I am moved to believe that you never understood the biblical messages, especially, Christ appointment and sending of His disciples and preachers outside Jerusalem or whatever. Your excuses are clothed in religious flabbiness. What are we to learn from such excuses? It is the same haranguing method of persuasive and pompous means to attract and encircle oneself with pity and thereby hustle cash from those gullible-prone and wretched faithful. O God, save us from these invaders of your kingdom on earth – the Church. Save us from the milking chalatans who make no difference between ephemeral and spiritual things.