Metro
Pastor Dies Days After Canceling a Wedding because the Couple Came Late
Essa Ogorry, Founder and Lead Pastor of Fulfilling-Word Foundation Church based in Rivers State, is dead.
He died on Tuesday at the age of 55, a staffer in the church, who did not want to be mentioned, told The PUNCH.
Ogorry died exactly a year after his wife, Tonyemieba, passed on. The departed couple left a 17-year-old child.
The later Rivers-based preacher went viral recently for refusing to join an intending couple over their lateness to the wedding service.
The source close to Ogorry said, “My pastor has gone on to be with the Lord. He had health issues even before the wedding saga. We took him to the hospital and he had to come from Lagos to attend the wedding.
“He tried to preach the Sunday after the wedding but he was not in his normal strength. He went back to the hospital and he gave up yesterday (Tuesday) morning.”
“He celebrated his 55th birthday on February 9, last week. He lost his wife last year, on February 16, 2020, the same date,” the source added.
Speaking on the ‘cancelled’ wedding, the source said the groom and the bride signed a document that the pastor has the right not to join them together as husband and wife if they come late on the wedding day.
Describing the late preacher as a “father, a perfectionist and a disciplinarian”, the source said the viral ‘cancelled’ wedding which occurred on February 6, 2021, was not the first of such but added that the late preacher usually did join the intending couple later on after entreaties. The source noted that the February 6 incident was different as the groom rained insults on the pastor.
The source said, “He came that day and waited for five minutes. Before the day, he did interviews with the intending couple and he told them not to allow him look bad in the face of the congregation because the kind of thing had happened before when intending couple come so late and all the members will be waiting for them.
“For that reason, there is a document that every to-be couple used to sign that pastor has the right to cancel their wedding if they are late. The to-be couple in question signed it. They came more than five minutes late, they came over 15 minutes late and pastor had already gone into his office.
“The bride came to pastor and pleaded. Pastor considered going on with the wedding but the groom and his family rained insults on him. Then, an uproar ensued and pastor left the church.”
The source said the church leaders and the family of the Pastor Ogorry will meet later to decide on the funeral arrangements.
Efforts to reach the state chairman of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, Rev Dagogo Jack, proved abortive as of the time of filing this report as his line was switched off.
Meanwhile, friends and members of the church have started paying tribute to the departed pastor on social media.
The Punch
Glo Foundation, a CSR organization set up by telecommunications giant, Globacom, has liaised with the Lagos Food Bank by distributing boxes of food items to the Ilaje community of Bariga, Lagos.
Glo Foundation disclosed last Saturday when several thousands of residents of Ilaje community in Bariga, Lagos State, came out to receive food items and other valuables that the initiative was aimed at ameliorating food insecurity and reducing the suffering of the underprivileged in the society.
Each of the food packs contained Rice, Garri, Spaghetti, noodles, tomato paste, tooth brushes, sardines, salt, vegetable oil, and seasoning cubes.
The distribution of the big boxes of food items, was carried out in collaboration with the Lagos Food Bank, at the Love Lagos Jetty in Bariga. The rare initiative elicited joy from beneficiaries marking the commencement of a nationwide food initiative by the Foundation to support hundreds of thousands of Nigerians in several states of the Federation.
The atmosphere was filled with excitement and appreciation as the beneficiaries sang and danced in celebration of Glo Foundation’s gesture.
In her remarks at the event, the Head of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) at Globacom, Mrs. Adejumobi Mofe-Damijo harped on the Foundation’s determination to bring joy to families through the food drive which, she said, would be extended to other parts of the country.
According to her, the Foundation would undertake series of interventions that would bear positive impact on different sectors of the society in tandem with its vision of empowerment and care for the less-privileged.
Mofe-Damijo also gave kudos to the staff of Globacom for embracing the culture of giving and lending support to the project consultants, Lagos Food Bank Initiative, to achieve the success that the event recorded.
The elated beneficiaries thanked Glo Foundation for the laudable intervention with the food and various items in the packs given to them. Abiola Oladunjoye, an unemployed female member of the community, disclosed that the food pack from the Foundation was divine provision for her household. “I really appreciate. May the Almighty continue to protect the company and may it continue to grow. I pray for more success for you all and the company itself for remembering us here.”.
In the same vein, Amarachi Peter, a cook, was profuse in praise of Glo Foundation for bringing the train of its Food Drive to the community. She noted that the pack for her was a huge relief at a time like this when the cost of living has become unbearable.
Similarly, Eunice Kehinde, a hairdresser, kept praying for Glo Foundation and staff of Globacom who were on hand to support the distribution. “It is not easy for my family to feed these days. With this food pack from Glo, we are sure of what to eat for some weeks”, she noted, and commended Glo Foundation for considering the community in the food drive initiative.
The Executive Director of Lagos Food Bank Initiative, Michael Sunbola, appreciated Globacom for its investment in the food drive while inviting other corporate organizations to be part of the charity venture.
Said he, “We are happy to collaborate with Globacom on this. This is the pilot phase and other parts of the country will also benefit from the drive aimed at touching the lives of the real underprivileged in the society”, he said.
The Glo Foundation train is billed to visit another Lagos community next Saturday to replicate the same gesture.
The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, CP Olohundare Jimoh Moshood, has paid a courtesy visit to the Assistant Inspector General of Police in-charge of Zone 2 Command comprising Lagos and Ogun States AIG Adegoke M. Fayoade at the Zonal Command Headquarters, Onikan Lagos, according to a statement by the Zonal Public Relations Officer, CSP Ayuba Ummah.
The statement noted that the visit was aimed at seeking support and professional guidance from the AIG.
During the meeting, the Lagos Police Boss shared his security strategies with the AIG as he solicits support and collaboration in the fight against crime and criminality to ensure a safer Lagos.
The AIG in his response commended the newly posted Commissioner of Police and his Management Team for their efforts in upholding the peace, stability and security in Lagos State, stating the positive feedbacks he got from members of the public on how safe and peaceful Lagos is since the CP assumed office.
He also pledges support and collaboration in the fight to bring crime and criminality in Lagos and Ogun States to the barest minimum.
The AIG in his final remarks charged the CP to pay attention to conduct of personnel and ensure they are professional, rule of law compliant and police in line with global best practices in order not to put the Force in bad light.
Metro
WAEC Council Meeting Ends in Monrovia, Elects Fully As New Vice Chair, Honours Three Best Candidates
By Eric Elezuo
The 73rd edition of the Annual Council Meeting of the West African Examination Council (WAEC) has ended in Monrovia, Liberia, with the election of Liberia’s Chief Government Nominee on Council, Honourable Amos Armah Fully, as the new Vice Chairman for a one-year tenure. Fully succeeds Mr. Edward Kpakra of Sierra Leone, whose tenure just ended, according to a statement signed by the Head, Public Affairs, WAEC Headquarters, Ghana, Demianus G. Ojijeogu, and made available to pointblank.ng.
The event, which lasted between Monday 17, to Friday 21, March 2025, was declared open by the President of the Republic of Liberia, His Excellency, Joseph Nyumah Boakai, Sr., also witnessed the honoring of three Ghanaian best candidates in the last West African Senior School Certificate Examinations (WASSCE) with WAEC International Excellence Award for their outstanding performances for School Candidates, 2024.
The candidates, who received their honours during the formal opening of the meeting, were Master David Nii Commey Ankrah, (1st Prize), Master Henschel Tabi Frempong-Manso, (2nd Prize), and Master
Benedict Ofori Debrah (3rd Prize).
The three candidates were selected from 2,455,063 who sat the examination in The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone. The Augustus Bandele Oyediran Award for the Best Candidate in West Africa, 2024 also went to Master David Nii Commey Ankrah.
In his closing remarks, the Chairman of Council, Prof. Thomas B. R. Yormah, appreciated to the Government and people of Liberia for being a wonderful host.
The week-long meeting was attended by delegates from all the member countries of Liberia, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and The Gambia. They included nominees of the governments, representatives of ministries/departments of education, universities, secondary schools, and other interest groups.
The next edition will be hosted by the Government of Ghana in March 2026.
