NGO, church disagree over unpaid salary

• Church faults Dike’s claim

A non-governmental organisation (NGO), Ambassador for Peace and Enlightenment Foundation (AMPEF), has alleged that the Lord’s Chosen Charismatics Revival Movement is owing their client, Mr. Dike Atuenyi N100m as unpaid salary for over 13 years.

The founder of the NGO, Peter Odinakachukwu made this known during a press briefing in Lagos. He said that his client, Mr. Atuenyi, who hails from Oru East Local Council of lmo State had complained that the church owed him the said amount of money when he was employed by the church to head its transport department.

According to Odinakachukwu “his client, Atuenyi, explained that Pastor Muoka asked him to resign his appointment with the Lagos State Ministry for Transport to head the church’s transport department with an appointment letter dated June10, 2009, with the promise to pay him N700,000 each month.”

He said that since the signing of the letter no salary has been paid to his client (Atuenyi), instead he was threatened with strange calls from hidden numbers. One of the calls received threatened to deal with him if he does not withdraw the case against the pastor.

Odinakachukwu said that his NGO had written petition to the Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of Police Zone 2, Onikan, Lagos over alleged threat to life of his client by the church for demanding his 13 years unpaid salaries.

“Each time I asked for my salary, Pastor Muoka would cajole and deceive me with promises of great plans he has for me, according to him, he wants to establish me in a big way, but cunningly he refused to pay me for 13 years until I left the church in November 2022.

“Sometimes in January 2023, Pastor Muoka invited me following the intervention of the Human Right Organisation to settle our differences, but to my surprise, I received the most terrifying life-threat,”Atuenyi said. Odinakachukwu said he made efforts to contact Pastor Muoka over the issue, which proved abortive.

However, the church through its Director, Public Relations, Pastor Louis Chidi reacted to the allegation, saying, “it is not in our character to trade words with NGO or its client, Mr. Dike. But for the benefit of doubt, there is no truth in his spurious claim. Neither the church nor the Pastor owes him anything. He is just being tele-guided by the devil to blackmail and extort the church. Everyone knows the church’s position on holiness and righteousness; in fact, this is what endeared the Pastor to the multitude of worshippers who daily visit the church.”

The church added: “His petition to the police has been attended to and he was advised to take the matter to court as police bluntly refused to be dragged into debt collection particularly where there is no debt to collect. And the allegation that he was appointed to head transport department of the church with a promise to be paid #700,000 monthly is a lie from the pit of hell. How could someone who didn’t see the four walls of an elementary school and could not make a simple sentence manage more than 1000 fleets of vehicles of an international organisation like The Lord’s Chosen. He is just seeking attention.

He also claimed he held the position of supervisor in the Lagos State Transport Ministry and has no evidence to prove this. And someone is there promoting wickedness. The Scripture says: ‘But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons’ (Col. 3: 25).