Gilbert Ekezie

It was a day of songs and merriment at the main auditorium of God’s Firmament Covenant Ministries (GFCM), Festac Town, Lagos, recently.

General overseer of the ministry, Prophet Remigius Christian Echewodo, made about 20 widows and other underprivileged women in the area happy by donating food items worth about N15,000 and a cash of N5,000 to each woman. The money, he said, would help them cater for themselves as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage the globe, including Nigeria.

Among the items he donated were 22 5kg bags of rice, 22 cartons of noodles, 40 tubers of yam, 22 one-litre bottles of groundnut oil, tinned tomatoes and sachets of edible salt.

Some of the recipients, who said the lockdown had made them beggars, could not believe what they saw. They said it was God’s surprising package, which would sustain their families for some time.

In his remarks, Echewodo explained that giving should be a regular thing, but noted that the present lockdown deserved great attention. He said the people were experiencing an issue affecting the whole world at the same time.

“The coronavirus has shown us that everybody is living in one globe. The world powers have been disgraced. I am happy many are using this to turn to God. America that is so jealous of its citizens cannot do anything. God might not be the one that brought the coronavirus, but he allowed it to teach the world powers that all power belongs to him alone.”

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He recalled an incident that triggered his passion to make the donations. “I was planning my birthday anniversary on the 25th of April, but wanted to start it on the eve of 24th April. I wanted to do it in a big way, to give out generating sets, deep freezers, televisions and other items, but due to the lockdown, it did not hold as scheduled. It has been postponed to a later date. So, when a certain lady indicated interest to assist widows and she paid N45,000 into my account, I decided to add more money to it. At last, I ended up spending more than N300,000 because, instead of the N3,000 she planned to give to each of the 15 widows, we gave them N5,000 each plus food items. We also reached out to other people who needed help to survive.”

He stressed the need for government, groups and individuals to also reach out to those in need, in spite of social distancing.

The cleric also told Nigerians not to abandon their relatives, friends and neighbours during the lockdown or use social distancing as an excuse not to reach out to the needy.

“The lockdown should not lock down the hearts of the privileged ones in the society from blessing the less privileged among them. Unfortunately, many are using social distancing as an excuse, but that is not enough reason not to show kindness to those that one can bless. There is hunger in the land. I believe that giving attracts blessing. We need to do our best to save lives at all times,” he said.

One of the recipients, Deaconess Kate Chukwu, expressed gratitude to God and Echewodo for what the cleric had been doing in the lives of the less privileged. She prayed that God would never forsake the man of God and his family.

Another recipient, Mrs. Martha Ogba, expressed appreciation to the cleric: “I am very much pleased with the gifts I received today. I did not expect such. I was called on phone by one of the pastors, and I came here and saw the food items and met other people.

“I pray that the Almighty God will visit him and his entire family. I pray that God should continue to provide for him and the woman who sent part of the money he gave to us.”