N5m donation sparks crisis in Celestial Church

By Samuel Ogunsona

The Celestial Church of Christ, Acts of Apostle Parish, Ketu, Alapere, Lagos, has been embroiled in a crisis following the donation of N5m by the church authority.

The crisis erupted during a Sunday service when Muyiwa Oluponna, the son of the church founder, the late Eminence Samuel Bilewu Oshoffa, stormed the church and disrupted the service.

Oshoffa died in September, 1985.

Oluponna allegedly seized the microphone from the acting shepherd, Adetayo Adetola, and claimed the right to deliver sermons every second Sunday of the month.

Irohinoodua was informed that Oluponna and some church members are rocked by bitter feud over the donation.

The church authority subsequently shut down the church for 40 days through a task force led by Akinbode Adjovi.

Adetola alleged that Oluponna demanded the N5m donation be given to the family, sparking the crisis.

“That Sunday, our shepherd was not around and I was put in charge of the church. I was also assigned to give the sermon. We started the service and everything was going well until he (Oluponna) snatched the microphone from me, demanding to speak.

“I respected him and gave him the microphone because I knew him as a family member of the church founder. Immediately he collected the microphone, he said the N5m given to the church by the headquarters for renovation does not belong to the church but to the family of Oluponna who founded the church.

“He also demanded that money be given to the family, insisting that the church belongs to the family and not the community or the CCC authorities.

“He also demanded that he be made the church shepherd and be allowed to give sermons every second Sunday of the month. We all kept quiet until he finished.

“After that, I took over to deliver the sermon, but to everybody’s surprise, he came back and snatched another microphone from one of the choristers and came to the pulpit to give the sermon. That was when we all resisted him”, Adetola said.

The Shepherd of the church, Emmanuel Iperepolu, alleged that Oluponna had been causing trouble in the church, threatening him and other church members whom he perceived were against him.

“I think the donation prompted him to do what he did, but before the issue of the money came, he has been coming to the church to threaten and abuse me and others. However, immediately after he heard about the donation, he came and demanded that the money be handed over to the family.

“He said the church belongs to the family of Oluponna, hence the money belongs to the family and not the church. The church authority has taken over the issue, and they have invited me and representatives of the family for questioning,” Iperepolu said.

The incident has thrown the church into turmoil, with members divided over the issue.

The church authority’s decision to shut down the church has also raised questions about the leadership and management of the parish.

Since Oshoffa’s death, the CCC has been rocked by leadership secession.