Former Regional Pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, City of David, Region 20, Pastor Idowu Iluyomade, and his wife, Dr. Siju Iluyomade, who are alleged to have resigned as pastors of the church are currently under pressure to begin their own ministry.
The resignation followed his refusal to serve his three-month suspension and transfer to another parish in Ebute Meta.
Pastor Iluyomade was transferred from elite parish, the City of David under RCCG Region 20 following the controversy that trailed his wife, @sijuiluyomade’s lavish birthday celebration in February.
The event which had all the trappings of a carnival with top businessmen, bankers and monarchs took place when the church was mourning the death of former CEO of Access Bank, Herbert Wigwe.
Wigwe is said to be a top financial member of the Church who contributed generously to the building of the new church edifice. He d!ed along with his wife and son in a tragic plane crash in the US, barely 2 weeks before the birthday celebration.
A new minister, Pastor Charles Kpandei resumed as the new senior pastor of the region on Sunday, June 9, 2024.
A source in an interview with Vanguard said Iluyomade has resigned, but the governing council has not accepted his resignation letter.
The source also said the Apapa Family, the RCCG arm working with the government and other public sector institutions, is trying to ensure that Pastor Iluyomade sets up his ministry.
The source said: “Since he is serving a suspension, the resignation has not been accepted by the governing council. The council will not meet until August when the suspension will lapse. The church has an exit procedure for pastors of his calibre.
“The Apapa Family group is believed to be an RCCG arm working with governments and other public sector institutions to establish charity projects in the areas of healthcare, education, infrastructure, citizens’ welfare and capacity building.
“Whether it is for self-gains and desires just the way they influenced Pastor Ituah Ighodalo to resign from the RCCG and establish their ministries, only God knows.”
Much earlier in the mid 1990s, Pastor Tony Rapu, the founding pastor of the RCCG Apapa family group of parishes equally resigned following yet to be fully disclosed reasons and set up his own Christian Minister, ‘This Present House,’ also within the highbrow Lekki axis.