In what appears to be a new twist to the succession war going on at The
Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, some youths in the Pentecostal
church have asked the General Overseer, Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye, to
name his successor before death comes. One of the youths who simply
gave his name as Chukwutobe wrote an article which he sent to other
Redeemed youths. The piece, which he titled: "Why Redeemed's G.O, Pastor
E. A. Adeboye Should Handover Now"! went viral and was even said to be
part of why Daddy G.O, as he's fondly called, summoned all workers to a
crucial meeting, after the Friday, November 7, 2014 Holy Ghost Congress,
at the Redemption Camp, Km. 46, Lagos/Ibadan Expressway, Mowe, Ogun
State. In the said article, Chukwutobe wrote:
“The Redeemed
Christian Church of God has expanded greatly and it is still expanding.
This tremendous growth has made it one of the richest churches in Africa
(it may even be the richest). It has a large number of pastors with the
head as Pastor E. A. Adeboye. The problem is some (if not many) are
position-covetous. It will surprise you the things these pastors use to
canvass for position. They give gifts that do not come from their heart
to senior pastors and show fake 'submissiveness'. If Pastor Adeboye dies
without putting his successor in the General Overseer position, there
will be a big problem. This problem will be similar to that of Christ
Apostolic Church (CAC) of Apostle Ayodele Babalola. Despite how
prayerful the man was, the events that followed his death were strange
as pastors at a time used charms against themselves in the name of
fighting for position. The factions of CAC now are many and the church
lacks unity even till now. The reason for my opinion now is death can
come anytime. I'm not wishing Pastor Adeboye death o. What I'm saying is
Apostle Babalola's death came without notice. He had just prepared for a
crusade and decided to sleep and he died. Also the recent death of
Pastor Sadela (oldest man on pulpit) is a sign. A man that claimed God
told him he will live up to 200 years died suddenly. Anyway, it is my
opinion and this may be disregarded if God leads him not to hand-over
now”.
YES INTERNATIONAL! Magazine sent this article to one of
Adeboye's media aides, Pastor Olakunmi Oyewale, on Friday, November 7,
2014 and asked if he thought it was a sponsored piece by those who had
been calling for Daddy G.O's removal and he replied thus: "The article
may or may not be sponsored by some big guns. It sounds good and wise,
humanly speaking. But, I'm also sure G.O is not sleeping on this issue
either. He must be praying about it. It's either God has given him a
clue, but warned him not to disclose it yet, due to reasons best known
to God or God is making and preparing the successor. One thing I know,
RCCG is Christ's church. As long as the leadership is intact with God,
no cause for alarm. You don't use human speculations or judgment to run
God's church". It would be recalled that the call for the Osun State
born influential preacher's resignation had been on since he turned 70
in 2012. Cases of some dissident pastors asking Adeboye to step aside
from the leadership of the church, having attained the age of 70, are
also there. In 2012, as a matter of fact, four of the Assistant General
Overseers (Pastors M.O Ojo, Ilori, Aderibigbe and D. Ojo) openly called
for his stepping aside. Recently too, the church's only General
Evangelist, Pastor J.T Kalejaiye was touted as the preferred candidate
to succeed him by some section of the church. But Adeboye was quoted as
once telling his congregation that his successor is still in a drinking
joint, and that the person is even yet to give his life to Christ.
Born about 72 years ago, the revered and respected preacher holds a PhD
in Applied Mathematics from the University of Lagos. At a time, he was a
lecturer at the Universities of Lagos and Ilorin, Kwara State. The ever
smiling and humble servant of God who loves safari suits started out as
an interpreter to the founder of the church, Rev. Josiah Olufemi
Akindayomi, before becoming the General Overseer of RCCG in 1981,
following the man's death. He brought monumental development,
transformation and recognition the way of the church and with more than
16,000 branches worldwide now, some people feel he should bow out
honourably. This call for him to do so and also name his successor have
been on the increase as he ages. Now, the youths have joined them.
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