Emmanuel Thomas
June 30, 2015 – Celestial Church of Christ (CCC) Worldwide yesterday insisted that Rev. Olatoso Matthew Oshoffa is not the spiritual head of the Church.
The church founded by late Samuel Bilewu Joseph Oshoffa has been in crisis in recent times, with Olatoso Oshoffa, claiming to have been anointed as new spiritual head of the church.
But at a crowded press conference at its headquarters in Makoko, Lagos, Board of Trustee said the church as presently constituted has no spiritual head by the name ‘Pastor’ but maintained that Rev. Emmanuel Mobiyina Oshoffa remains leader of the Celestial Church of Christ Worldwide.
Speaking in behalf of CC Board of Trustees, Superior Evangelist, Samson Banjo, said that subject to the outcome of the appeal filed against the court’s ruling, “the church does not have a lawful and duly accredited Pastor for the time being.”
“Any assertion, representation, claims and pretention by any person or person including the ill-advised and baseless self-declaration of Senior Evangelist Olatoso Oshoffa to the pastorship or leadership of the Church is fake, ingenuine, a figment of imagination and an exercise in futility, which carries a grave risk of contempt of court.
“We therefore advise the general public to ignore such representation in its entirety. Emmanuel Mobiyina Oshoffa remains our leader,” Banjo said.
Last week Monday, Olatoso, 46 declared his emergence as the new spiritual head of the CCC, after an alleged divine revelation to replace the leader of the church and his elder brother, Emmanuel Mobiyina Oshoffa, who was ousted by an Ilaro High Court in March 2015.
Siblings of Olatoso at the weekend had disassociated the Oshoffa dynasty from their brother’s candidacy, but rallied behind Emmanuel Mobiyina Oshoffa as the substantive head.
The church had last week said the leadership pronouncement by Olatoso, was sponsored by “some misguided and self-seeking persons with the intention of deceiving and misleading the church and the public to foster their personal unlawful interests.
Banjo, one of the two surviving trustees out of the original seven, recalled that the whole crisis started December 2005, when a member of the Church, Godwin Bolanle Shonekan, showed up to declare self as head, forcing the church to challenge him in court.
The court, in its ruling in March 2015, ruled that the self-proclamation of Godwin Bolanle Shonekan as pastor of the church was illegal, unconstitutional, null and void. The court further ruled that the appointment of a Pastor in the Church needs re-articulation in a new constitution.
“Consequently, the trial judge set aside all claims to the position of the pastor of the church (held by Emmanuel Mobiyina Oshoffa). In this regard, the Board of Trustees, as one of the defendants, has already appealed against the court ruling,” he explained.
Consequent of the court ruling, Banjo said the church had begun the process of rewriting the constitution in the last three years “to find a peaceful solution to its problems.”
He added that the interim draft produced by the constitution review committee was receiving necessary attention and the committee has resumed work to produce a final draft for the consideration of all stakeholders of the church.
“It is hoped that the exercise will be duly completely before the end of the year when the new constitution will be duly registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission and any necessary action for the restructuring of the church can be legally undertaken.
“In the meantime, the Board of Trustees and Pastor-in-council are making appropriate arrangements for the smooth, proper and peaceful running of the affairs of the church at all its parishes worldwide.,” he said.
