Following the suspension of His Eminence, Julius Osayande Olayinka Abbe, as Primate of The African Church, by the Management Committee of the Church, the embattled Primate has described his suspension from office as laughable, illegitimate and should be ignored by the public.

Responding to his suspension at a press briefing held yesterday at the African Church, Elder Coker Road, Ifako-Ijaiye, Lagos, Abbe maintained that he remains the 12th Primate, indisputable spiritual and overall head of the African Church. He urged sons and daughters of the African Church at home and abroad to note that the Most Rev Augustine Afolabi Odufuwa is not the Acting Primate but an impostor, who chose to impersonate the office of the Primate because of greed and inordinate ambition.

He also added that Elder Pius Adedayo Sobambo and Peter Okiti are not the Acting Lay President and Acting Deputy Lay President of the African Church, respectively, “but irresponsible layabouts who have their eyes in the funds of the Church.

Bro. Bayo Ogundimu is not the National Secretary of the Church and, therefore, lacks any moral legitimacy to write any letter in the name of the African Church. The purported suspension letter is laughable, illegitimate and should be totally ignored. He also clarified issues surrounding his Master’s degree, which, he said, was obtained from the Lagos State University (LASU).

In a statement signed by him and tagged, “The current impasse in the African Church,” Abbe said it was disheartening to witness the current impasse in the Church, describing it as the foremost indigenous Church in Nigeria. He noted that despite the efforts they made to resolve the impasse, the issue persisted.

According to him, “It is demoralising to see our brethren resort to spreading falsehoods through the media.” The embattled Primate said that they initially tried to ignore the actions of the other group that suspended him, but, to preserve the image of the Church, he and his group realised that the parishioners and the public need to know the truth; hence, they came out to debunk every misinformation peddled against him.