Months after the hoopla surrounding his wife’s 60th birthday party, the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) has suspended Pastor Idowu Iluyomade, the church’s Senior Pastor in the City of David parish.
Iluyomade was subsequently replaced by Pastor Charles Kpandei of the RCCG Resurrection Parish of Region 11 of the church, who returned to the City of David on Sunday, June 2, but was greeted coldly.
According to reports, the church’s Governing Council suspended Pastor Iluyomade, who also serves as the head of the RCCG’s Apapa Family, for three months this weekend. A panel has also been established to investigate some charges against him and the parish.
A top pastor, under anonymity, in the church told The Nation that the decision to suspend Iluyomade was a response to the public outcry against the extravagant birthday party of his wife shortly after the death of former CEO of Access Bank, Herbert Wigwe.
The sources said: “Those in the City of David had been expecting Pastor Kpandei. Some top RCCG officials had to meet with some top people in the parish and confided in them that Pastor Idowu would have to be removed from the parish.
“They needed to get the confidence of these top people because of the great influence of Pastor Iluyomade in the parish. The RCCG was not sure of the outcome of its move, so it had to be discreet. He may not be returned to the parish after the suspension.
“We have just three months to the convention. It may be a way of taking him away from the place permanently. He has spent many years in that parish. He needed to be moved.
“It was not Pastor Adeboye that suspended him. The governing council decided to suspend him. I think it’s a decision in the right direction. Though some believe it is coming late. They needed to investigate some of the things people were saying against him and the church.”
Fondly called PID, Pastor Iluyomade has been in the eyes of the storm following the 60th birthday of his wife, Siji Iluyomade.
Many people believed the birthday, which was celebrated just about a week after the unfortunate death of Wigwe in a helicopter crash in the US, was in bad taste.
Wigwe had been an immense blessing to the church before his transition, but the birthday party suggested the church had no emotional attachment to him.