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By Powerful Forces In RCCG
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What City People Found Out
It is no longer news that the popular RCCG Pastor, Idowu Iluyomade, who was Head Pastor of the City of David parish, is no longer with the parish. He has been transfered to the Ebute Metta headquarters of the church. And following this, was another news that the Pastor had resigned from the church. The transfer of Iluyomade, who also headed the Apapa Family of the church’s annex, came as a big surprise to many who simply didn’t see the entire saga coming. This is because many thought, Pastor ID, as he is popularly called, and his wife, the very elegant and stylish Siju Iluyomade, enjoyed a very close relationship with Pastor E.A Adeboye and his wife, Folu.
But all of these assumptions didn’t count when a group of powerful forces within the church, decided it was time to redeploy the very popular and hugely loved Pastor ID. The Pastor was said to have been ‘punished’ for undisclosed reasons. But many people within the church believe he and his wife are being persecuted out of Envy
According to City People findings, there is a lot more to the matter than people are made to believe. According to a source in the church hier archy, the whole issue is more of Envy than anything else. “What people don’t know is that there is a whole lot more to the circumstances surrounding Pastor ID’s exit. It is not about the alleged 50th birthday of Pastor ID’s wife, this issue of removing him from City of David has been on for a while, it didn’t start today,” he explained.
We probed further to ask why he thinks Pastor Idowu Iluyomade was treated that way. He insists it was all envy and nothing more. “Let me tell you, from the very day the very first service was held inside the new state- of-the-art City of Parish church, the Envy and Jealousy started. They just couldn’t believe that Pastor ID and his wife, Siju, were able to put together such an intimidating edifice, equipped with the most modern technology and a helipad for helicopters to land. Have you not been to that church to see things for yourself? It is a magnificent work of Art. It is enough to trigger envy and jealousy in any group of people.“
“Apart from that, this powerful forces within the church were also not comfortable with the fact that Pastor ID and his wife, Siju, appeared to be growing phenomenally so powerful within the church. For instance, they would ordinarily have been moved from the parish and redeployed to another parish since, but the forces couldn’t effect their redeployment because Pastor ID and his wife were said to have enjoyed the love and confidence of Pastor Adeboye and his wife, Folu. And the forces within, didn’t like it all.”
“They also felt uncomfortable with the fact that the Iluyomades had too many rich and influential people as friends. This led them to believe they must be making a lot more than they are making. Their assumption is that they should have been remitting more monies gotten from Tithes and Offerings back to the purse of the headquarters, hence the decision to redeploy Pastor ID. All of these were some of the things that caused the envy that got some powerful forces within the church demanding that the Pastor be removed and taken back to the headquarters in Ebute Metta.”
Pastor Idowu Iluyomade’s wife, Siju, has also been doing phenomenal things within the church that these powerful forces may not have been comfortable with. For instance, she has been able to attract powerful women of substance in the society to the church, including First Ladies, who have come in to partner with her on her ARISE Women programme that holds annually. This is a programme that attracts over 30,000 women from different parts of the country every year. And these women are empowered with cash and expensive food items that would last them and their families for a while. She even sets up small businesses for lots of financially helpless women. Siju invites women of substance to come and speak to these less privileged women to inspire them and instil in them the belief and confidence they need to break through life’s challenges.
Beyond empowering women, ARISE has established Mobile Clinics that have delivered free primary health care to the doorsteps of many communities like Ebute-Metta, Makoko, Lagos Island, Surulere LGA, Iwaya, Apapa, Yaba, Itedo village Lekki, Queens College Lagos, Amuwo Odofin/Festac area, and for Masha/Kilo Community and all over the Nigeria. Arise also operates a bimonthly Arise Women’s Clinic at the Healing Stripes Hospital Victoria Island as an outpatient clinic for women and this is done at many other states as well. Arise adopt a village project where boreholes are constructed, classrooms renovated and furnished, while free medical care was given to thousands of residents, Distribution of Arise Pink palliative bucket, Ultra modern women and children hospitals, building of a fully computerized literacy resource centre, Arise farmers foundation and Arise Skills Acquisition and Empowerment Academy.
Apart from being in charge of the City of David, Iluyomade was the Special Assistant to the RCCG General Overseer on Christian Social Responsibility through His Love Foundation. It was a responsibility he discharged with utmost passion and exemplary commitment.
City People gathered that in just two weeks, since the Pastors exit, activities at the City of David has gone quiet. A lot of top and influential members have stayed away in solidarity with their erstwhile Pastor. Said a source, “Have you noticed lately that the 2 front rows of the church usually occupied by Pastor ID and Siju’s inner caucus are literally empty now? These days, when they are showing videos of service going on inside the church, they try to avoid showing the empty rows. Same with the top women who belong to Pastor Siju’s inner caucus. These are the women who support the church and support all the empowerment programmes organised by Siju for the less privileged women, chief of which is the annual ARISE WOMEN’S Conference that holds annually.“
When City People checked the Instagram page of the church, there were comments from members complaining that the City of David is growing thinner by the hour. More and more members are expressing their discontentment with the way the Iluyomades were treated, throwing them out of a place they built from the scratch with their sweat, resources and connections. Even the new pastor in charge of the parish, Charles Kpandei, knows he has his work cut out for him. Many of the members have been very cold to him. We hear he was given a very cold reception on his first service and not much has changed since then. If anything, more members are walking away from the church, dissatisfied with the church’s decision to take their beloved Pastor and his wife away from them. Even one of Pastor ID’s Assistant Pastor’s has also given the new pastor the cold treatment, staying away sometimes from church programmes. What many of the members of the City of David parish, and indeed RCCG members nationwide, are waiting for right now is the next move of the Iluyomades. They cannot wait to see what they are planning to do next. But one thing is certain, this powerful couple will bounce back big time…
WALE LAWAL (08037209290)
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