THE funeral rites for Nomthi Odukoya, wife of the senior pastor of Fountain of Life Church Taiwo Odukoya, began Monday, November 29 with a night of tributes at 4 pm.
Odukoya had announced the funeral plans on Friday, November 12 via Instagram, the same platform where he announced her death.
Nomthi, a South African, married Odukoya in 2010. She had two boys — Jomiloju and Timilehin for him.
She was his second wife after his first Pastor Bimbo Odukoya died in a plane crash in 2005. Bimbo had two children, Jimmy Odukoya and Tolu Odukoya-Ijogun.
Several clergymen and women including Bishop David Oyedepo are expected to be part of the funeral.
Oyedepo had paid Odukoya a condolence visit on Wednesday, November 10.
He was accompanied by his wife Faith, Bishop David Abioye and Pastor Sam Olubiyo.
Also, the general overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) Pastor Enoch Adeboye visited Odukoya on Monday, November 15.
Adeboye, who signed the condolence register during his visit to Odukoya, said in an Instagram post that the Christian community should draw comfort from the fact that Nomthi served God.
“We are deeply comforted in the fact that Pastor (Mrs) Nomthi Odukoya knew, loved, and served the Lord with such fervency. And so we rejoice that she is in heaven; a place where there is eternal peace and rest,” he wrote.
Addressing his congregation on Sunday, November 14, Odukoya revealed that he and Nomthi visited several countries in search of the best healthcare during her battle with cancer.
“In the US, they told us that at the level at which we were treating this case, less than 1 per cent of Americans go this far,” he said.
