The General Overseer of Dominion Power Assembly International, Apostle Paul Odola, has countered the recent claim by controversial cleric, Pastor Abel Damina of Power City International, that he (Damina) ordained the Senior Pastor of Dunamis International Gospel Centre, Dr Paul Enenche, and gave him direction into ministry.
Damina had also claimed that he ordained both Dr Enenche and Apostle Odola the same day into their ministries.
But, speaking for the first time on the controversy in an interview with journalists, Apostle Odola faulted Damina’s claims, stressing that Pastor Enenche was already an established gospel minister before his path crossed that of Damina very briefly in 1995.
He said, “I’ve been privileged to know Dr. Abel Damina in 1988 and Dr. Paul Enenche since 1994, and that was the first time Dr. Paul Enenche came into the picture.
“At the time Dr. Paul (Enenche) came into the picture, he was already a man of God in his own right. I have a particular handbill where Dr Paul was featured as a guest speaker in 1995.
“In that handbill, there was one pastor called Dr Friday Yanga. Dr Paul came into the picture already as a minister of the gospel, fireful and vibrant. He often attended conferences that Damina organized then.
“There was this Jos Prayer Conference that was going on then that Dr. Paul attended. When the ICMA movement became a church, Dr. Paul came in as an associate minister. Sometimes he went around preaching, so we didn’t get to see him on Sundays. If he was around, he just came in for the service.
“I had the opportunity to invite Dr Paul to minister for us in Bauchi State in 1995. He was then a man of God in his own right. He came to that meeting with Dr Becky, his wife, and their daughter, Deborah, his mother-in-law. He was anointed, fireful, a man of God in his own right by all standards.
“We had the opportunity of coming around Dr. Joshua Talena and Dr. Damina, and it was very clear that Dr. Paul was different. He was different from us in so many ways. He was different in his lifestyle, his approach to ministry, and his morality. At one of the conferences we had in Uyo in 1996, Dr Paul also attended. It was obvious that Dr Paul had his own approach, his own lifestyle, and ministry. He only came around as an associate.
“We always knew he had a ministry that was going to be global because of his approach to life and ministry, which was quite different from ours.
“His very strict and high standard of living was different from ours because we were all young men then. The way he is today, I am not surprised.
“If Dr Abel Damina claims to have trained or ordained Dr Paul Enenche into ministry, it is false.
“When a man who had his own ministry and was already in ministry associates with you at one point in time, it does not mean you ordained him into ministry. It is just like saying John the Baptist ordained Jesus into ministry. Today, we can see that Dr Paul Enenche had it and was intentional about it while he was with us.”
Asked how long Dr Enenche’s association with Damina lasted before he founded his church, Odola said, “The interaction was quite brief because Dr Paul was already in ministry and only associated with us. He realized that the company was not befitting for him and he left.
“On our part, our youthful exuberance was very obvious, so Dr Paul, sensing and understanding that, had to completely dissociate himself from us. That interaction and association were brief. I think it was that lack of principle and youthful exuberance that he observed. When he came around, he didn’t stay too long and today, the difference is clear.”
Speaking on the claim that Damina was part of the inaugural service of Dunamis Church in Abuja, Odola said, “To the best of my memory, Dr Paul had already started the church in Abuja when Dr Damina and I came for one of his conferences. I was part of that conference. The church had already started before Dr Abel Damina was invited to come as a guest minister.
“As a matter of fact, we were all surprised at what the church had grown to be within a short period. Obviously, I don’t think it was the inaugural meeting that we came for because the church had already started and Dr Abel was invited as a guest speaker and we all came together.
“Anyone with us then would know that Dr Paul Enenche knew where he was headed and what he wanted to do. People like Rev Talena could tell that Dr Paul came in with the understanding of ministry and where he was headed.
“When it was time to start his own ministry, we all knew he was going to leave.
“Dr Paul had always shown clearly that he knew where he was going and what he wanted to do in ministry.
“I want to say this with all sincerity. I invited him (Dr Paul) to preach in our church in Bauchi in 1995 because I saw that he was quite different among us. He was the first person that ever came to preach when I answered the call.
“I did it because I saw what he had and who he was. Today, I am not surprised at what the Lord has used him to do. I had the privilege of taking a tour of the Glory Dome recently, and I want to say that people only see the Dome from the outside. They have no idea of the Glory Dome except if they come and visit and experience it like I did. Dr Paul is not just a gift to our nation; he’s a gift to our generation.
“What he has been able to do by the hand of God, no man can claim. No man can claim that he has inspired it. He is a generational gift and consistently remains an inspiration to our generation. I think everyone in their right senses should give this man the honor he deserves and learn from what God is using him to do.
“Dr Paul Enenche, I must say this with all sincerity is one of the greatest voices we have in the body of Christ. He is more or less like the current father of our faith because, whether we like it or not, the older generations are phasing out.
“He is one of the current fathers of faith that my generation of ministers is looking up to. Let’s talk about the lives that he has touched. In every country he has gone to, presidents and leaders of that nation attend his crusades. Such a man should be given the honor he deserves.
“So, Dr Damina’s comments regarding Dr. Paul Enenche are completely unfounded.”
