The face-off between the Founder of
Believers Love World (aka Christ
Embassy) Chris Oyakhilome, and his wife,
Anita, has taken a new dimension with
Mr. Oyakhilome now removed as a
trustee of a United Kingdom’s branch of
the church.
With Mr. Oyakhilome’s removal, his wife,
Anita, now presides over a seven-man
Board of Trustees of the N8.2 billion rich
branch, church documents reviewed by
PREMIUM TIMES has shown.
The six other members of the board are
Obi Chiemeka, Ifeoma Onubogu, Nkem
Odiakah, Raymond Okocha, Tony Obi and
Uche Onubogu, all pastors believed to be
loyal to Mrs. Oyakhilome.
Mrs. Oyakhilome has for long headed the
U.K branch of the church but her
husband, before what appears his sudden
removal, had since inception presided
over the Board of Trustees of the charity.
The new development suggests that in
addition to the matrimonial squabble the
couples are having, an intense power
struggle and battle for the soul of the U.K.
branch of the church might be going on
between the estranged lovers and
partners as well.
In fact, Mr. Oyakhilome had dropped the
first hint that there might be a
hierarchical row in the church when he
reportedly accused his wife of acting like
an equal and wanting to overpower the
authorities of the elders she met in the
church.
PREMIUM TIMES’ review of documents
filed by the church’s UK branch to the
Charity Commission of England and Wales
has now shown that Mr. Oyakhilome is no
longer a registered trustee of a branch of
his church with total asset worth over
N8.2 billion (£31 million).
Until he was recently abruptly removed,
Mr. Oyakhilome was consistently listed as
a prominent trustee since 1996, when the
branch was established.
Contrary to the church’s practice of
stating reasons for removal of trustees in
the past, no reason has been given for the
removal of Pastor Oyakhilome.
It is unclear whether explanation for the
action would be given in the church’s
annual report for 2013 which is yet to
made public by the charity commission.
According to the church’s financial
statement, in 2009, five pastors were
removed from the church’s board of
trustees after they resigned from their
positions and two others were appointed.
A Charity Commission spokesperson,
Sarah Hitchings, told PREMIUM TIMES
that it was not the concern of the
commission to know why charities
remove or replace their trustees.
The international office of Christ Embassy
refused to respond to questions this
newspaper sent through email neither did
the international audit and accounting
firm, Mazars, appointed by the Charity
Commission to run the affairs of the
church after it opened statutory inquiry
into the finances of the church following
suspicious payment it made to connected
parties worth N941 million between 2008
and 2012.
However, church insiders said the
removal of the pastor was a plot by his
wife to take total control of the affairs of
the branch even as her relationship with
her husband of two decades deteriorates.
With his ouster, those who should know
said Mr. Oyakhilome has lost the locus to
interfere in the affairs of that branch of
the church.
“He has been effectively sidelined,” a
church insider said. “The law in the U.K.
does not recognise him as an interested
party in that branch of the church
anymore.”
Anita herself loses control
But even the seven-man board led by
Mrs. Oyakhilome has itself lost control of
the affairs of the church.
On August 11, the U.K. charity
commission effectively sidelined her
board and appointed an interim manager
to take over the management of the
church.
In what it described as a “temporary and
protective measure,” the commission
appointed Rod Weston of the
international audit and accounting firm,
Mazars, to take over the running of the
church.
The Commission says it is investigating
the church over “a number of serious
concerns relating to the use of charitable
funds, in particular large connected party
payments and the potential
misapplication of grant funding.”
Until investigation is concluded, Mr.
Weston would preside “over the
management of the charity, including its
staff, assets, interests, and relations with
third parties,” the commission said.
He is also expected to discharge the
functions of the church’s trustees and
take steps necessary to secure and take
control of the assets of the church.
The commission however added that the
activities of the church would not be
suspended by the appointment as the
Interim Manager is expected to work with
the pastors of the church to ensure its
religious and charity activities continue as
before.
Divorce
Mr. Oyakhilome is locked in a divorce
battle with his wife, who has filed an
action at a London court to end their 20-
year-old marriage.
Mrs. Oyakhilome accuses her husband of
“unreasonable behaviour”, a charge Mr.
Oyakhilome has repeatedly denied.
At a recent church meeting, Pastor Chris,
as he is widely referred to by Christ
Embassy members, warned church
members against analysing the squabble
between him and Anita as the church is
not a political party.
He reportedly described his wife as a
“bitter and angry” woman who is being
influenced by bad friends who are out to
seek his downfall. He accused his wife of
seeking to overpower the authorities of
the elders she met when she joined the
Christian ministry.
As the divorce battle rages, Mrs.
Oyakhilome’s profile has been pulled
down from the church’s website.
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