Pastor Poju Oyemade is the Senior Pastor and founder of The Covenant Nation, a ministry founded in 1994 and headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria, where he oversees a dynamic community of believers across weekly services and its digital platforms. He is described as a highly regarded teacher of the Word of Faith, drawing out insightful lessons from scripture applicable to the complexities of everyday life, family, business, and nation-building.
His personal story grounds the ministry’s community philosophy. Pastor Poju Oyemade’s call to ministry dates to his time as an undergraduate at the University of Lagos. He was ordained into ministry by Bishop David Oyedepo, the presiding Bishop of Living Faith Ministries Worldwide. He has since built The Covenant Nation into one of Lagos’s most intellectually engaged churches, not through the size of its auditorium but through the seriousness of its engagement with Nigerian public life. He has been consistently described as a bridge in the Christian community in Nigeria, a link between the older generation of Christian trailblazers and the younger generation; between entrepreneurs and the church. That description is not ornamental. It shapes the programmes the church runs, the people it partners with, and where it places its money.
The Platform Nigeria, which Pastor Oyemade convenes, began in 2007 and has now entered its 20th year. At the 2026 May Day edition, Oyemade emphasised that true success lies in lifting others. The Platform is not simply a conference. It is the clearest expression of what The Covenant Nation believes a church’s relationship to national development should look like, namely that it should be direct, practical, free, and consistent.
The church’s community programmes, Lagos Sees, Edu-Aid, Project WRAP, and Covenant Capital, are each narrow in scope by design. They target specific gaps: access to eye care in host communities, resources in public primary schools, material welfare for the families of fallen Nigerian soldiers, and capital for entrepreneurs who cannot access traditional bank financing. None of these are broad vision statement. They are specific, operational, and verified through the church’s own published documentation. The ₦150 million grant through The Platform Nigeria Grant Bootcamp, launched May 1, 2026, now adds the church’s largest single entrepreneurship commitment to this record.
Documented Contributions
HEALTHCARE
Lagos Sees — Free Medical Eye Care for Host Communities Around All Church Locations
Lagos Sees is a dedicated community health initiative of The Covenant Nation that provides free medical eye examinations, prescription glasses, and where medically necessary, surgical referrals to residents of host communities around the church’s Lagos locations. Access to optometry and ophthalmology in Nigeria is severely constrained by cost — specialist eye consultations cost between ₦10,000 and ₦50,000 at private clinics, putting them out of reach for most urban poor. Lagos Sees removes that barrier entirely for the communities that share space with the church.
Source: TCN Official Ministry Page — insightsforliving.org/our-ministry/
EDUCATION
Edu-Aid — Material Support, Teacher Training, and Pupil Assistance for Lagos Public Primary Schools
Edu-Aid is an NGO of The Covenant Nation that directly supplements public primary school resources in Lagos State through material provision, teacher capacity building, and direct pupil support. It operates in select government primary schools within the church’s operating communities, providing what the state education system consistently underfunds: classroom materials, supplementary learning resources, and structured teacher development.
Source: TCN Official Ministry Page — insightsforliving.org/our-ministry/
WIDOWS OF SERVICE PERSONNEL
Project WRAP (2011) — Material and Welfare Support for Families of Fallen Nigerian Servicemen
Project WRAP (Widows’ Relief and Assistance Programme) was created in 2011 and provides structured, ongoing material and welfare support to the widows and children of Nigerian military and security personnel killed in service of the nation. These are families who have paid the most direct price for Nigeria’s security — and whose welfare typically falls through the cracks of underfunded government pension and death benefit schemes. The Covenant Nation’s documented commitment to these families since 2011 represents one of the more specifically targeted welfare contributions in the Church Archive record.
Source: TCN Official Ministry Page — insightsforliving.org/our-ministry/
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Covenant Capital — Micro-Finance and Business Advisory for Entrepreneurs in Local Communities
Covenant Capital provides financial and advisory support to entrepreneurs within and beyond the church — evolved from an earlier Covenant Microfinance Scheme. It targets the financing gap between an idea and a viable business for community-level entrepreneurs who cannot access conventional bank credit, enabling job creation and economic independence in the communities where the church operates.
Source: TCN Official Ministry Page — insightsforliving.org/our-ministry/
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
The Platform Nigeria ₦150 Million Grant Bootcamp — Launched May 1, 2026
The Platform Nigeria is giving out ₦150 million to existing startups and small businesses. Registration for the bootcamp commenced on May 1, 2026, at The Covenant Place, Iganmu, Lagos, Nigeria. The event was also shown live on Channels Television via DSTV Channel 420.
The initiative, themed “RE-SHAPING CULTURE,” is designed to move beyond ideation by equipping young entrepreneurs with the capital and structure needed to scale viable businesses. It places a strong emphasis on execution, measurable growth, and innovation-driven enterprise development. Speakers at the event included former Minister of Finance Kemi Adeosun, South African venture capitalist Vusi Thembekwayo, fintech leader Tosin Eniolorunda, agribusiness innovator Affiong Williams, and several others. At the May 2026 edition, there were also 120 stalls for service-oriented businesses on the grounds, creating a marketplace and networking environment alongside the grant programme.
Source: The Platform Nigeria Official — theplatformnigeria.com/sites/2026/may/bootcamp/ Arbiterz, April 2026 — arbiterz.com · Channels Television, May 1, 2026 — channelstv.com · MSME Africa — msmeafricaonline.com · Legit.ng — legit.ng
NATIONAL POLICY
The Platform Nigeria — Free National Development Conference Since 2007 (Now in its 20th Year)
The Platform Nigeria, which began in 2007, has entered its 20th year. The 2026 May Day edition was aimed at inspiring a new generation of innovators and nation-builders. Attendance is free, and participants are not required to register to access the core sessions, reinforcing the platform’s open-access approach to knowledge sharing. Held every Workers’ Day (May 1) and Independence Day (October 1) at The Covenant Place, Iganmu, Lagos, The Platform convenes speakers from the highest levels of Nigerian and global leadership to address governance, economics, and enterprise. It is entirely church-funded and open to all Nigerians regardless of faith.
Source: Channels Television, May 1, 2026 — channelstv.com · The Platform Nigeria Official — theplatformnigeria.com