Purported primary reason- It is too close to President Buhari’s bedroom and kitchen.

Vanguard reports that the Presidency is under pressure to relocate the Villa Chapel due to its proximity to the official residence of Buhari.

Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo was said to have intentionally built the church to be very close to the President’s residence ‘so that he could enjoy worship and prayers from the comfort of his bedroom’.

But Buhari, unlike Obasanjo, is a Muslim, and he most certainly won’t be enjoying the worships and prayers.

The report further says that the late President Umaru Yar’Adua, had assured Obasanjo, after taking over from him, that he would not relocate the Villa chapel, despite its location.

However, aides of President Buhari are said to be perturbed with the location of the church and had initially attempted to stop Christian worshippers from using the building on August 30.

Also, the Children’s church of the Villa Chapel, has reportedly been shut down while some rooms have been converted to shops for storing food items.

Consequently, the children have had to relocate to the office of the Chaplain, Seyi Malomo, for their church service.

Vanguard quoted a source at the Presidency as saying: “As we speak, the children’s church remains shut and everything relating to the church has been removed. We had to beg them to allow us to remove our property. The children’s church has been turned into a store,” the official said.

“As a result of the unforeseen development, we had to collapse some facilities to accommodate the children and keep our worship going. That was why the Chaplain said that the church had not been shut but ‘we only had some procedural issues that needed to be sorted out’.

Kolapo Olapoju