PASTOR PAUL ADEFARASIN ‘SQUANDERD’ OVER N150M ON HOTEL

Pastor Paul Adefarasin of The House On The Rock Church neither negotiates his comfort nor that of his members.

Ever since he found himself working in the Lord’s vineyard, enjoying all the best things that life could offer has always mattered to him. Married to an ex-model, Ifeanyi and blessed with three children (Hilda, Alvin and Alexander), he first arrested everybody’s attention when he started coughing out over half a million every week for their Sunday service at the then newly completed MUSON Centre in Onikan, Lagos. And even when the management of the upscale event centre intermittently upped their fees, Adefarasin never budged.

The Rock Millenium Temple under construction

Then, in the early part of 2011, he raised the bar by having what he dubbed a special combined service once every month at the most expensive event place right now in Lagos-The Expo Hall of Eko Hotel and Suites, on Adetokunbo Ademola Street, Victoria Island. It costs a princely N8.5 million to make use of this hall, and so far, Adefarasin and his ministry have been doing this effortlessly and without breaking a sweat. Therefore, if you multiply N8.5m by ten, it will give you N120 million.

However, we understand that he enjoys some discount. At the MUSON Centre, the ministry is also believed to have expended over N50 million on their services held there. Interestingly, neither the people at Eko Hotel nor those at MUSON Centre was willing to comment on this when we sought their reaction. Even the people at HOTR who spoke to us declined to be quoted or their identity revealed. In fact, one of them asked us to ‘forget the story’. Explaining that some blessed church members take care of the huge bill.

An architect by training, Adefarasin, richly endowed with a husky voice and a hunky frame, now builds only for the Lord. The son of Justice Joseph Adefarasin and Madam Hilda, former National Council for Women Societies boss, his childhood was very, very rough. The reason being that he got involved with drugs – which the Almighty God later extricated him from.

Dashing and debonair, the church was founded in 1994 in his ever supportive mother’s living room and now has about 36 branches spread across the country. Their new place of worship, The Rock Millennium Temple, is fast nearing completion in Lekki, Lagos and said to be worth over N1 billion.

Tutored and mentored by Pastor T.D Jakes, his annual gospel extravaganza, Experience, has attracted nearly all the biggest gospel sensations, both here and abroad. From Kirk Franklin to Sammie Okposo, Donnie MC Claukin to Panam Percy Paul, Don Moen to Ron Kenoly, everybody has taken their turn on the stage. The gospel show holds every December at Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos.

Unarguably one of Nigeria’s sexiest men, Adefarasin attended the University of Miami and even practiced architecture for some time over there before embracing full time ministry. Also a crooner, before he found his feet in the ministry, he had traversed those of Chris Okotie, Mike Okonkwo and Tunde Joda where he also learnt one or two things.