Nigerians have taken to social media to mock and criticise relationship coach and pastor, Kingsley Okonkwo, after he unveiled a Christian matchmaking platform with a VIP membership costing ₦700,000 annually.
Okonkwo, the lead pastor of David’s Christian Centre, announced the platform, Mentor To Marry, in a series of posts on X on Wednesday.
The platform is targeted at Christian singles seeking marriage and offers three membership options, Regular at ₦70,000, Premium at ₦350,000 and VIP at ₦700,000 per year.
The development quickly generated reactions online, with some Nigerians questioning the idea of paying hundreds of thousands of naira to find a potential spouse.
The VIP package offers members access to a dedicated matchmaker and coach, priority access to the platform’s founders, off-platform introductions, global profiles and other services.
The platform also requires members to undergo an eight-week mentoring programme involving classes, assessments and guided reflection before accessing its matching services.
Promoting the initiative, Okonkwo said modern relationships had become increasingly commercialised and had made it difficult for some men to find genuine partners.
He wrote, “I feel for the men of this generation….relationships have been so commercialized nowadays that its almost impossible for a young man to find true love.”
In another post, he said, “When we were young, all you had to get was a girls phone number but now all they want to send is their account number, now you are expected to pay rent, school fees and transport before you are taken seriously.”
He subsequently directed men looking to meet “godly well mentored ladies from all over the world” to the platform.
Okonkwo, however, clarified that his comments were not intended to portray women as being primarily interested in money.
“I can assure you that not all women are in relationship for business, there are a lot of good women looking to connect with serious godly men on our platform,” he said.
The platform describes itself as a “guided marriage-preparation and matching community for serious Christian singles who desire intentional, Kingdom-minded marriages.”
It is operated by Love, Dating and Marriage Ministries, a non-profit organisation founded by Okonkwo and his wife, Mildred.
According to the platform, membership does not guarantee that a subscriber will get a match, find a partner or get married.
The service is open to Christians aged 25 and above, while its matching service is available to people who are unmarried, divorced or widowed.
Despite the platform’s stated focus on marriage preparation and mentoring, the ₦700,000 VIP fee became the major talking point among Nigerians online.
While some users ridiculed the cost and questioned the need to pay such an amount for matchmaking, others defended the initiative, arguing that a Christian dating platform with mentoring and accountability could provide an alternative to conventional dating apps.