As members of the Cathedral Church of Christ (Anglican Communion), Ilaro, a suburb of Yewa South Local Government Council, Ogun State, kick against the unilateral closure of the church, the Bishop, Rt. Reverend Michael Adebayo Oluwarohunbi, says, it is a family affair even as congregants have called for his immediate removal. Bishop Oluwarohunbi had allegedly called in welders to permanently close the church’s entrance since February 24, 2016. Things were said to have fallen apart at the church located at Ona-Nla Quarters, shortly after some members discovered that unauthorised pillars were discreetly erected at the four corners of the church building as well as inside the worship hall during a revival programme and sort clarification from Bishop Oluwarohunbi as the Provost of the church and presiding priest, Very Reverend Solomon Rotimi Adewumi, was out of town at the period.

Sunday Mirror gathered that during the meeting, Bishop Oluwarohunbi explained to the leaders that he erected the pillars to mark his posting as new Bishop of Yewa Diocese, but could not convince the leaders why he had to embark on such mission in the cathedral premises without officially informing church members. A source, who was part of the meeting and spoke on condition of anonymity, said that suspicion arose following the meeting until it became clear that the bishop was on a collision course with the elders for querying his authority and position. In a telephone interview after he failed to respond to questionnaires mailed to his mail box, Bishop Oluwarohunbi described the crisis as a family affair.

“It is not time yet to talk to the press about it. The church leadership is looking into it and I am sure that very soon, it will be settled,” he said and declined to further comments on the matter. According to our source, the first major sign of danger was the sudden lack of communication between the provost and the Bishop. “While nobody can say why the bishop seemed not to want to see his provost anymore, it was clear that they were no longer headed towards the same direction or shared the same spiritual goal. Everything deepened when the Bishop alleged that the Provost planned to assassinate him and invited the State Security Service (SSS),” the source revealed. “By Anglican communion tradition, the priest heads the cathedral and reports to the bishop, but many decisions engineered by the bishop were taken behind the provost. Worse of all, gossip suddenly began to fly around in the church and further deepening the division among members,” the source said, adding that things got to a head that the bishop openly criticised the provost.

“For many of us, it was quite strange to find the bishop dressing down a presiding priest before the congregation,” the source told the newspaper. In an interview, Very Reverend Adewumi, said he was no longer a member of the church having resigned his appointment as provost on December 29, 2015. However, Adewumi told the newspaper that he called it quits when all efforts to allow peace to reign in the church failed. “I resigned because it was clear to me that the Anglican structure and my boss did not want us to work together in peace. I had to leave just in case I am seen as the reason the crisis festered on,” he said. Reverend Adewumi pointed out that he had served two bishops and wondered why it was difficult for him to work with Bishop Oluwaronhunbi. “The church lost its peace, innocence and spirituality as soon as the bishop arrived. Many members, including myself were constantly harassed with police and men of the State Security Service (SSS). The worst came when my boss alleged that I had plans to assassinate him. I was arrested, detained and interrogated by the SSS and later released when they could not find anything incriminating against me. It was at this point that I felt the crisis was more than meets the eyes and resigned,” he disclosed.

•Sourced from Sunday Mirror.

Update news