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The Story Of The DELTA Billionaire
If you’ve ever sat in a Nigerian church on a Sunday and watched the ushers pass the basket twice, you know how money moves around during ‘offering time’,now picture that same basket, but the hand dropping into it belongs to Benedict Peters — founder and Chairman of Aiteo Group, the energy company that runs Africa’s largest indigenous oil blocks.
Peters doesn’t give speeches about it. He’s a “born-again”Christian and a prominent financier of the gospel of Jesus Christ across the world. And people who track his giving say its not about headlines.He makes regular donations to charities and a large number of churches as well as a number of social investment projects.
For Peters, churches aren’t an afterthought in CSR. They sit on the same list as schools, arts, and host-community support. Those close to him say he views cooperation with host communities as “vital to sustainable economic prosperity”.
Aiteo has built its brand on host communities in the Niger Delta. In those same towns, the church is often the first place people run to when there’s school fees, medical bills, or IDP relief. So when Peters funds churches, he’s also funding the social safety net that already exists on the ground.
In Nigeria’s “megachurch” economy, where tithe and freewill offerings fund schools, hospitals, and welfare, Peters donations has quietly kept many ministries afloat without a loud noise of it.
On Sunday mornings in Bayelsa, Port Harcourt, Warri, and Lagos, Pastors don’t name him from the pulpit. But project coordinators, school administrators, and charity leads know when a building project suddenly gets completed, or when a youth program doesn’t have to shut down,it’s through the support of Peters…it’s like money moving from oil fields, through Aiteo, into church halls where ordinary Nigerians are getting support, medical help, or food relief. For Peters, it is somewhat routine for him. And the reason he does that remains a mystery to those around him or watching from afar.Till today,he remains the only one who could probably answer why exactly he gives freely to the Church at every given opportunity.
Peters large-scale church giving,is a rare attitude for people his ilk. For those very close to him,that mega show of affection for the work of God remains a mystery.
City People gathered that Peters,who is arguably the richest businessman in Delta also regularly makes direct donations to churches/ministries.And its not only in Nigeria.
Records show that he had given millions of pounds to churches and ministries across Africa and overseas.
Apart from donations to churches in host communities of Aiteo in the Niger/Delta, a significant contribution went the way of the Christian Way of Life Church and its community outreach; in the UK, to the Apostolic Pastoral Congress, to save a historic church that was facing sale and closure. Peters has long opposed the repurposing of sacred spaces, seeing it as part of a wider erosion of faith in public life.
These donations, totaling several million pounds, were made many years ago, underscoring his commitment to the Lord’s doing.
The reports describe him as a committed believer who has opposed repurposing sacred spaces, saying he sees it as part of a wider erosion of faith in public life. Peters’ philanthropy and charitable giving remains unmatched by any of his billionaire partners in Nigeria today.
From Lagos,to Port Harcourt ,Abuja and his native Onicha Olona in Delta North ,this gentleman has continued to sow seeds in billions and does not appear to be slowing down soon.
Wole Alakija
08055001823
