by Kolapo Olapoju
Fresh facts have emerged about the divorce controversy surrounding the founder of Believers love World (Christ Embassy), Pastor Chris Oyakhilome and enstranged wife, Anita Oyakhilome.
Anita had filed for divorce from Pastor Chris in a London court, citing “unreasonable behaviour” by her husband, as the grounds for seeking dissolution of their 20-year-old marriage.
According to Premium Times, Pastor Chris has been removed from the seven-man Board of Trustees of the United Kingdom’s branch of the church, and that it was privy to court documents which revealed that Anita sits atop the board of the London church.
The publications says that “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 the branch of his church. Until his recent but abrupt removal, Mr. Oyakhilome was consistently listed as a prominent trustee, since 1996, when the branch was established.”
Besides Anita, the remaining members of the Trustee board are Pastors, Obi Chiemeka, Ifeoma Onubogu, Nkem Odiakah, Raymond Okocha, Tony Obi and Uche Onubogu.
There are indications that both parties want control of the church, which reportedly has a total asset worth over N8.2 billion (£31 million). Pastor Chris had earlier accused his wife of attempting to ursurp and lord over the elders she met in the church, while Anita, is believed to have won the loyalty of the six members of the board of trustees.
Ever since the divorce news came to fore, Anita Oyakhilome’s profile has been taken down from the church’s website and her picture has been removed from the recent issue of the monthly ‘Rhapsody of Realities’ publication.
Meanwhile, YNaija had earlier reported that the United Kingdom Charity commission had set up an inquiry into the church to investigate “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.”
As at 11 August, the charity commission had appointed an interim manager, Rod Weston of the international audit and accounting firm, Mazars, to take over the management of the church, thereby, rendering the powers of Anita Oyakhilome, temporarily ineffective.
Leave a reply