"Heaven Must Be a Garage!" — Pastor Ibiyeomie Says His Compound Can't Hold His Cars, Claims He Owns a Vehicle 'Only Presidents Use'

Hillary Michael · Nigeria · Nov 13, 2026

Pastor David Ibiyeomie has never been shy about the blessings in his garage—but this time, he says the blessings have outgrown the building.

The founder of Salvation Ministries, Pastor David Ibiyeomie, has sparked a fresh wave of social media debate after a video surfaced of him describing a car collection so large it has outgrown his residential compound. In the clip, the Port Harcourt-based cleric is heard telling his congregation, “Boy, I have cars. I have cars. There’s no space. In the compound, no space for cars. So I had to park some in another compound”. He clarified that these were not ordinary vehicles: “These are not small cars, they are heavy cars. I had to tell them to extend my compound for space”.

But the detail that truly set the video ablaze came next. While drawing attention to one of his Rolls-Royce vehicles, Ibiyeomie asked the congregation if they liked it—and then claimed, “I have a car that only the president uses it”. The remark was a characteristic blend of showmanship and provocation from a pastor who has never shied away from publicly discussing his wealth. It also fits a pattern: in March 2026, he made headlines for arriving at a crusade at the University of Port Harcourt in a Tesla Cybertruck, a vehicle so uncommon in Nigeria that it became a spectacle in itself.

Yet the video did not end with the cars. According to reports, the same clip captured Ibiyeomie praying for his congregation and declaring that poverty would not follow them: “Please, now in the name of Jesus, I speak over your life. You will never be broke. Ah, except God did not call me. Poverty ends in your lineage”. For his supporters, the prayer is the point—the cars are simply evidence of a God who blesses. For his critics, the juxtaposition is jarring: a pastor boasting about vehicles parked in overflow compounds while praying that his members escape poverty.

The backlash was swift. The Trumpet reported that Ibiyeomie was facing social media criticism over the claims, with the video reigniting a long-running conversation about the wealth of Nigerian Pentecostal leaders and the optics of luxury in a country where many struggle to afford basic transportation. The Nairaland thread that amplified the clip drew comments that were far from celebratory, with one user writing, “And you have very poor members, wey church no go even contain all of them. I pity some mugus wey go dey cheer these gods of men”.

This is not the first time Ibiyeomie has made news for his possessions. In January 2026, he reportedly said that two plots of land would not be enough for him, his cars, and his entourage. And in August 2025, he claimed he had given out 50 cars in less than two months, adding that he had donated the money meant for his own first car to the kingdom of God. Whether one views his latest remarks as a testimony of divine favour or a public relations misfire, one thing is clear: Pastor Ibiyeomie’s garage has become a pulpit of its own—and the sermon is impossible to ignore.