RCCG Elder Denies Iluyomade Rebelled Against Church, Questions His Expulsion

An elder in the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), City of David Parish, Quincy Ayodele, has refuted claims that the church’s former pastor, Idowu Iluyomade, rebelled before starting his own ministry.

Ayodele, a renowned natural medicine practitioner and World Health Organization consultant, expressed shock and disappointment over the church’s decision to bar Iluyomade from returning to City of David after serving a three-month suspension.

Speaking in an interview with on-air personality Daddy Freeze on Monday, Ayodele revealed that she had accompanied Iluyomade to the RCCG headquarters in Ebute Meta throughout his suspension period, expecting that he would be reinstated.

However, she was stunned when he was instead handed a letter prohibiting him from stepping into the church’s premises.

Ayodele lamented the development, highlighting the once-close relationship between Iluyomade and RCCG’s General Overseer, Pastor Enoch Adeboye.

“Pastor Adeboye and Pastor Iluyomade were like father and son. There was nothing Adeboye wanted that Iluyomade wouldn’t go out of his way to provide,” she said.

She insisted that Iluyomade did not rebel against the church but was simply prevented from returning.

“He was told not to enter City of David. Why they did that is only known to Daddy GO, the governing council, and God. I cannot explain why, but we are curious,” she added.

According to Ayodele, some elders in the church took it upon themselves to appeal to Adeboye to reconsider his decision. They wrote letters pleading for Iluyomade’s reinstatement, but none received a response.

After being banned from City of David, Iluyomade and his family turned to another RCCG parish, Kings Court, which he had pioneered years earlier. Initially, they were warmly received, but soon after, they were asked to leave.

“Pastor Adeboye taught us that if one sheep is lost out of 100, Jesus would go after the lost sheep. I was asking myself, will he now allow Iluyomade to be lost to the world?” Ayodele questioned.

Having been in RCCG for 32 years, she said she personally sought out Iluyomade to encourage him not to stray from the church.

Addressing rumors that the late Herbert Wigwe, former CEO of Access Bank, was the sole financier of City of David’s Trinity Towers, Ayodele refuted the claim.

“Pastor Wigwe did not single-handedly build Trinity Towers. It was the collective contribution of all members of the City of David Parish, including him,” she clarified.

The controversy surrounding Iluyomade’s suspension intensified after his wife, Siju Iluyomade, hosted a lavish 60th birthday party just days after Wigwe’s tragic death in a helicopter crash on February 9, 2024. The celebration sparked outrage, with critics accusing the family of insensitivity, eventually leading to Iluyomade’s removal.

Ayodele, who was out of the country at the time, said she was unaware of the backlash until she saw reports on UK-based blogs.

“We were all devastated when we heard about our brother’s passing. When I later heard about the birthday party, I assumed Mummy (Iluyomade’s wife) finally approved it. But the next day, I started reading reports, and I was shocked,” she said.

Ayodele revealed that numerous prominent Nigerians tried to intervene on Iluyomade’s behalf, appealing to Adeboye to reconsider his decision.

“They went to beg him, and he said Iluyomade was repaying a loan. But he had been paying loans without asking the church for money, so why not let him finish paying?” she asked.

She recounted how some individuals even went as far as rolling on the floor, pleading for forgiveness, but Adeboye remained unmoved.

When asked whether the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) had stepped in, Ayodele responded, “Who will talk to him if God has not talked to him? My daddy hears from God. It is what God says that he tells us, and we believe him.”

Contrary to speculations, Ayodele insisted that Iluyomade had no intention of starting a new church.

“He does not even know how to start a church. He was an Anglican before joining RCCG, and his father was a reverend. If he returns to Anglicanism, where will he start from?” she asked.

She expressed disappointment that those Iluyomade had helped during his tenure abandoned him in his time of trial.

“I can tell you that the people they helped abandoned them. They weren’t even praying for him in the City of David after he left. That was why I went to see him. When I got to him, he was weeping, saying he had been told not to step into the church,” she recounted.

Pastor Adeboye’s Remarks on Those Who Left RCCG

Ayodele was particularly hurt by Adeboye’s comments during his recent visit to City of David, where he allegedly referred to those who left RCCG as demons.

“I started wondering, is this my daddy talking? What is going on?” she said.

Despite her disappointment, Ayodele said she chose not to follow Iluyomade to his new church because she still believes the issue can be resolved.

“If I had the opportunity to meet Pastor Adeboye, I would beg him frantically to forgive Iluyomade,” she concluded.