Daniel Olukoya, general overseer of Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFM), says a former pastor who allegedly tried to steal a branch of the church in Maryland, US, is behind the attempt “to tarnish his reputation”.
In a statement Collins Edomaruse, his media aide, issued on his behalf on Saturday, Olukoya said some people are plotting to destroy the global image of his church.
He said seven allegations were levelled again the church recently but all of them are false.
“It has become pertinent for the purpose of clarity to respond to the false allegations being peddled against the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries and our General Overseer – Dr. D. K. Olukoya in the social media,” the statement read.
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“These allegations are seven (7) in number namely: No. 1 That Dr. Olukoya falsely claimed residence of US city of Maryland. Nothing can be further from the truth. Dr. Olukoya is a public figure nationally and internationally. His domicile is therefore a fact of public knowledge. The true position is that the Pastor who wanted to register MFM in Maryland inserted Dr. Olukoya’s name without prior consultation with or knowledge of the G.O because he believed that Dr. Olukoya should be involved but after he consulted a lawyer and received advice that a person’s name cannot be on the incorporation documents unless he is resident in Maryland, that registration was put in abeyance and allowed to lapse. The Pastor is still alive and all the evidence are there for all to see at the Company Registry in Maryland.
“No. 2 Allegation is that Dr. Olukoya Illegally Imported books into the United States and evaded payment of Customs duties on those books.
“This is also untrue. Dr. Olukoya’s books are sold on Amazon. It is fool hardy for anyone to suggest that he brought in his books to US illegally when he can and has been doing so legally. This false allegation was pioneered by a former Pastor of MFM who tried to steal MFM Branch in Maryland. He conceived this lie as his defence to a civil Suit the Church brought against him in the County Court in Maryland. This concocted lie could best be described as the wild thrashings of a drowning man intent on bringing everybody down with him. However, in defence of this allegation, MFM brought its book keeper to testify in court who produced all the receipts of payment and customs documents and, in the end, the Judge not only thrashed the wild allegation but gave judgement in favour of MFM.”
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Olukoya also denied the allegation that the church’s trustees in the UK were suspended.
In 2019, the UK Charities Commission appointed an interim manager to Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries International.
At the time, the commission said it had concerns about the activities of the church including the repeated late filing of financial information, the governance of the charity and a failure in the administration which gives room for significant losses to occur.
But in his statement, Olukoya said: “The allegation that the Trustees in the UK were suspended is completely false. They were never suspended. They are still in charge of the Church even up till now. The trustees were never indicted. We can authoritatively say that no Trustee of MFM-UK has ever committed fraud.”
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He said he wrote a letter to the UK Charity Commission to challenge the “non-factual nature” of the report written about him and the commission replied on August 20, 2019 that it would address the complaint.
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