Popular non-denominational Christian ministry, The Elevation Church (TEC), has refuted social media reports that it has investments in Imagine Global Solutions, an embattled microlending company.
In an internal message to church members, Lead Pastor, Godman Akinlabi said, “this information is false. The Elevation Church has no such investment whatsoever. From inception, as an institution, we set internal and external systems and processes that have allowed us to operate with high standards of financial probity and accountability, as faithful stewards under God.”
The rumours began spreading after an Instagram user with the handle, @_trapselena_ said Bamise and Elizabeth Ajetunmobi, the couple running Imagine Global lending scheme, were on the run with monies of Nigerians running into billions.
“Major investors include The Elevation Church, which gave them N500m,” the Instagram user said.
However, it was observed that the user has already taken down the post from her Instagram account and has subsequently set her account to private.
Meanwhile, Piggyvest, one of the organizations mentioned as an investor in the scheme, has also refuted the rumours. In a statement issued to the media, Piggyvest stated that “the report claiming that Piggyvest had lost N2billion in an alleged Bamise ImagineLenders scam trending on Instagram is completely false and unfounded.”
The social media has proven to be an unreliable source of information as it is often a tool for misinformation. One classic example was the rumoured death of veteran actor, Olu Jacobs in July 2020. Olu Jacobs recently attended the 60th birthday of his wife, Joke Silver.