Benue Indigene gives N42m Tithe to Local Church

An unidentified man has been reported to have given N42 million as Tithe to The Non go Kristu U Sudan hen Tiv (NKST) church in Makurdi, capital of Benue state.

Tithe is 10 percent of income paid by many Christians to their primary places of worship.

This implies that the man who paid N42m tithe must have earned N420m.

Resident pastor of the NKST Church, Mr Frederick Ikyaan, had initially denied knowledge of the N42m tithe said to have been paid into the UBA account of the church.

A copy of the church’s quarterly financial report, covering the months of January – March, however confirmed that the money was paid into the church account.

The report also showed that the cash lodgement made in January was the highest single offering from an individual in the first 3 months of the year.

A further 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.

When questioned about the financial report, Pastor Ikyaan 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.

According to news reports, the cleric said there was nothing wrong with the offering and insisted that the church had nothing to hide. He however failed to disclose the name of the individual.

Benue state has been the sight of many communal clashes in recent months as well as attacks on farming communities allegedly carried out by suspected Fulani herdsmen.

The refusal of the church to disclose the identity of the member who paid the huge sum may have been done to uphold his right to privacy. Observers have however, called for stronger fiscal regulations with respect to religious institutions to address possibilities of fraud and money laundering.