The gathering of congregants at the All Saints’ Church (Anointed Land), Opopogboro, Ado Ekiti, last Sunday, March 2, 2025, was an unusual one.

Rather than converge on the church’s auditorium for a service, they gathered in clusters within the premises in protest against certain things they had frowned on regarding the vicar of the church.

The priest who was to conduct the service in the church, which is under the jurisdiction of the Anglican Diocese of Ekiti, watched in surprise as the worshippers kept their distance.

Prior to that day, members of the parish had demanded the outright transfer of the vicar from the church. And, even though the leadership of the diocese had brought in another cleric to officiate the service, the members refused to budge.

Signs posted on walls and notice boards on the church premises bore their grievances. Some of them read, “Say no to compulsory leave, yes to total transfer. No to autocracy, we say no to dictators”; “We are tired of fetish and gullible acts – All Saints Church needs peace, progress, tranquillity”; “All Saints Church is anointed land for Christ, we say no to darkness”; “Bishop must not support Oke”; and “Ven. Oke Olanrewaju must go”.

The aggrieved members insisted that for peace to reign, the vicar in charge of the church— Ven. Oke Olanrewaju— must be removed from the parish over sundry allegations levelled against him.

Speaking on the matter, the Secretary of the Parish Council Committee, Mr. Adeboyega Falowo, stated that the church members were unhappy with the way Olanrewaju was handling the affairs of the parish.

Falowo insisted that activities would not resume in the church until the demand of the members was met by the leadership of the diocese. He added that they had submitted a formal request signed by many members for the vicar’s transfer from the parish, and it had been forwarded to the Bishop of the Diocese, Rt Rev. Andrew Ajayi.

The PCC scribe, who traced the beginning of the crisis in the parish to an election for the position of people’s warden, said, “The virtual election was shrouded in controversy. The vicar allegedly declared it inconclusive.”

According to him, members, who accused the vicar of interfering in the process, were not pleased with the development, which they said amounted to preventing their preferred candidate from assuming the office, and later removing the person’s name from the church bulletin.

Other church members claimed that an allegation that the vicar assaulted the current people’s warden— Mrs Omoyeni Oyewole— after allegedly attempting to remove her from the position, heightened the tension.

Also speaking on the crisis, the youth president of the parish, Olusola Ogunyemi, stated that the development in the church was displeasing to members.

“What is happening here is unexpected. We are not happy with what we are seeing here this morning.

“The majority of the parish members are against the vicar. His style of administration has affected the church, and we don’t want that to continue. We want the bishop— the supreme authority— to take action.

“We have been expecting the bishop to address the issue. We want to hear from the bishop. Our demand is that we want peace in All Saints Anglican Church, because this church is known for peace. We are calling on the bishop to take instant action on this for peace to be restored to the church,” Ogunyemi said.

Another member of the PCC, Dr Mobolaji Afolabi, alleged that the vicar once brought a dog into the premises, adding, “Despite warnings from church leaders regarding health and hygiene concerns, the dog was left unattended to and it defecated in sacred areas.

“Additionally, he (embattled vicar) was linked to poultry farming activities that led to environmental pollution and a neighbourhood lawsuit. It was through church mediation that the matter was resolved outside of court. But tension remained high.

“Further unrest arose when he attempted to block a candidate from contesting the people’s warden position, citing an incorrect interpretation of the African Diocese Constitution. The election was then declared inconclusive, fuelling suspicions of manipulation.

“Last Sunday (a fortnight ago), the omission of the disputed warden’s name from the church bulletin further inflamed tension, with congregants viewing it as a deliberate act of exclusion.

“In response to the crisis, the bishop dissolved the PCC, leaving the church without a governing body. Attempts at mediation have so far been unsuccessful. A senior priest was deployed to lead Sunday service, but members rejected his presence, forcing the service to be held outside the church hall.”

Yet another member of the church, who identified himself simply as Olamide, called on the leadership of the diocese to respect the wish of the parish members and change their vicar.

“Members feel the vicar cannot lead the parish anywhere in view of the confrontations, and the fact that spirituality has gone down in the church under him. Nobody is happy about developments in the parish under the vicar,” Olamide said.

Other parish members told our correspondent that the church had suffered a decline under the vicar’s leadership, hence they were demanding his replacement with another person capable of restoring both “spiritual and administrative integrity”.

Apparently bothered by the boycott of church service, the Bishop— Rt Rev. Ajayi— called for peace.

His media consultant, Damilola Oladele, said in a statement on Tuesday that Ajayi was handling the matter with all the seriousness it deserved.





https://punchng.com/ekiti-worshippers-kick-out-anglican-priest-over-leadership-style/