Quincy Ayodele, an elder in the Redeem Christian Church of God, RCCG, has appealed to the General Overseer of the church, Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye to forgive Pastor Idowu Iluyomade, the estrange Pastor-in Charge of the City of David Parish of the Church.
Ayodele, a prominent herbal expert made the appeal in a chat with Daddy Freeze, according to a report by Church Times on Monday, she said Iluyomade did not rebel against the church contrary to media reports.
The magazine reported that Pastor Iluyomade was suspended last year by the church following the outrage that greeted his wife’s lavish 60th birthday party, few days after one of the parishioners and former Group Managing Director, Access Corps, Herbert Wigwe, his wife and son died in a tragic helicopter crash in the United States in February 2024.
The Wigwes’ tragic death threw the country into mourning, and not a few Nigerians had criticised the flamboyant pastor and his wife for throwing the party against the public mood at the time, particularly as the demised banker was a major financier of the church.
Following the fallout with the RCCG, Iluyomade founded his own church ‘The Family Fellowship’ in January this year, a development that has further angered some members of the church who accused him of rebelling against the GO Pastor Adeboye and the authority of the Pentecostal church.
According to Ayodele, the former City of David Head Pastor did not rebel against the church, he only left after he was prevented from entering his former church, adding that all effort by some elders of the church to ensure that he was accepted back into the fold was rejected by Pastor Adeboye.
She accused Pastor Adeboye and the authority of the church of abandoning Iluyomade during his challenging times, saying as a father, Adeboye should have forgiven his ‘son’ in line with his teachings to his congregants to forgive those who offend them.
She said Iluyomade had no intention to establish his own church, that he had no other option after he was rejected, even when he had served out his suspension by Pastor Adeboye.
Part of what Ayodele said: “We were expecting that after the three months he would be restored to the City of David. but to our surprise, whatt we heard was that he was given a letter that he must not step into the City of David.
“Pastor Adeboye and Pastor Iluyomade were like father and son..They are so close..There is nothing Adeboye wanted that Iluyomade would not go out of his way to make available.”
Some elders of the church wrote letters to Adeboye begging him to forgive Iluyomade without success, she said, adding that at a time, the former RCCG pastor and his family had to go back to ‘The Kings Court’ one of the RCCG parishes he founded to worship there.
She said, “They wrote letters and signed their names on the letters to Pastor Adeboye. But there was no response from Baba Adeboye.
‘The pastor in the church welcomed them and accorded them the honour of the founding pastors, only to be told later that they should not be accommodated.
“Pastor Adeboye taught us that if one sheep is missing out of 100, Jesus would go after the lost sheep..I was now asking will he now allow Iluyomade to be lost to the world.”
Pastor Adeboye refused to forgive the estarnge pastor even after some prominent Nigerians appealed on his behalf.
“They went to beg him, and he said he (Iluyomade) was paying loan. But he has been paying loans without coming to ask for money from you. So, why don’t you leave him and let him finish paying the loan?
“He said it’s okay; he will let him come back. He did not. Other people went to beg him, rolling on the floor and asking for his forgiveness..He did not.” Ayodele said.
Establishing his own church was the last resort for Iluyomade after he was roundly rejected, Ayodele said.
She said. “He does not even know how to start a church. He was an Anglican before he joined RCCG. His father was a reverend. He had left Anglican for almost 32 years. If he goes back to Anglican, where is he going to start from?
“I can tell you that the people they helped abandoned them in their moment of trials. They were not even praying for him in the City of David that he left. That was what made me go to him. When I got to him, he was weeping, telling me that he was told not to step into the church.”
In a viral video on his verified instagram account announcing the birth of his new church four months ago, Pastor Iluyomade, invited the public to the maiden service which took place at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island in Lagos.
The message reads: “The Family Fellowship invites you specially. Join us tomorrow at the Civic Centre for a special time in the Lord’s presence. Promises to be a great experience.”
The church, sources said, has since acquired a prime site in the upscale Lagos coastal city, Eko Atlantic where the church permanent site will be built.
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