Nigerian gospel singer, Timi Dakolo has faulted claims by the lead pastor of Light Nation Church, Apostle Femi Lazarus, about the excessive financial demands made by some gospel artistes to perform at church events.
Timi Dakolo was responding to a social media video that purportedly showed Apostle Lazarus projecting a $10,000 honorarium invoice from a gospel artist during a sermon.
Among other requirements, the invoice listed a mandatory 50% non-refundable deposit, a first-class ticket, and lodging.
The cleric subsequently contended that these financial demands were too high for the ministry.
In a post on his Instagram page, Timi Dakolo challenged Apostle Lazarus to mention the artiste in question.
He wrote: “Nigerians, you should not believe everything you see. Nobody has a 40-man crew in Nigeria. Name the artiste to justify capping.’’
He also showed some posts that included screenshots of two emails he received when he applied to the $150-per-student Apostle Lazarus’ school.
“All this was said in love and with respect, sir. I am not a gospel artist but a Christian raised in church. Let’s not shift the goalpost. By your definition, if anyone charges to minister, they are not gospel artists; they are performers. And by that definition, if any preacher charges to teach and minister, they are merchants of hope and motivational speakers too.
‘‘Sir, you are charging as low as $150 per person for your school of ministry, teaching and preaching Jesus, probably having as many as 1,000 students. Let’s do the maths. Do you even have premium and standard for God’s house? Are you not selling the gift and revelation freely given to you? Again, let’s not keep shifting the goalpost,” the singer added.