Bola Odeleke (born 1950) is a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

pastor,

evangelist Evangelist may refer to: Religion * Four Evangelists, the authors of the canonical Christian Gospels * Evangelism, publicly preaching the Gospel with the intention of spreading the teachings of Jesus Christ * Evangelist (Anglican Church), a c ...

, preacher, founder and general overseer of Power Pentecostal Church.

Early life

Odeleke is from

Ibadan Ibadan (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano, with a total population of 3,649,000 as of 2021, and over 6 million people within its me ...

, the capital of

Oyo State Oyo State is an inland state in southwestern Nigeria. Its capital is Ibadan, the third most populous city in the country and formerly the second most populous city in Africa. Oyo State is bordered to the north by Kwara State, to the east by Osun ...

, southwestern Nigeria. She had her primary and secondary education at

Ilesa Ilesa () is an ancient town located in the Osun State, southwest Nigeria; it is also the name of a historic kingdom (also known as Ijesha) centred on that village. The state is ruled by a monarch bearing the title of the Owa Obokun Adimula of Ij ...

, her mother's hometown. She became a Christian in 1970 but began her evangelism in November 1974, celebrating her 40th anniversary in the ministry in August 2014. She became a bishop on 28 May 1995, and was the first African woman to become a bishop.

References

Living people 1950 births People from Oyo State Nigerian religious leaders Nigerian Protestant missionaries Yoruba Christian clergy Women bishops Nigerian Pentecostal pastors Pentecostal missionaries Protestant missionaries in Nigeria Female Christian missionaries {{Nigeria-bio-stub