Former Senator representing Kogi West Senatorial district, Dino Melaye, said the retirement of Bishop David Abioye from the Living Faith Church worldwide informed his absence from the church’s 2024 Shiloh gathering.
The event held between December 10 and 15, at Canaanland, Idiroko Road, Ota Ogun State, is one of the largest Christian gatherings in the country, with attendance from all over the world.
Melaye took to social media on Sunday to accuse the church of being unfair to Abioye by “forcefully” retiring him from his role as Vice president of the church.
The former Senator said Abioye, who was retired alongside Bishop Thomas Aremu, having served for over four and three decades, respectively, should not have been relieved from his role as the General Overseer of Living Faith Church, Bishop David Oyedepo, is much older than him but is still active.
“I did not attend Shiloh 2024 because Shiloh without Bishop Abioye is somehow,” Melaye said.
“I can’t understand why Bishop Oyedepo, who is older, is not retired, and it is Bishop Abioye who is younger that should be forcefully retired. God did not retire Abioye, only Oyedepo did,” he added.
Melaye’s comments have reignited public criticism over the retirement of both leaders.
Bishop Oyedepo had previously advised critics to refrain from questioning the church’s decisions.
According to earlier reports, Bishop Abioye retired due to reaching the age limit stipulated by the Living Faith Church’s operational guidelines which serves as the church’s constitution.
The church policy, often referred to as the “Liberation Mandate”, was reportedly revised to set the retirement age for pastors at 58 from 60.
In his valedictory speech on October 18, Abioye thanked Bishop Oyedepo for his guidance all through the years.
Abioye told the congregation at the Abuja Goshen City venue of the event that the lessons he had learnt from staying under Bishop Oyedepo’s tutelage had provided him security of destiny.
Abioye, 63, said God had used Bishop Oyedepo to impact his life in no little way, describing him as a “trailblazer”.
He said, “for now me and my wife, the lessons learnt so far in the Living Faith Church have provided for us security of destiny. I stand here with a deep sense of gratitude and appreciation to the Lord for the grace he has rested on me which puts me in continuity in the path of exploits.”
“My adventure in ministry is not a subject of being desirous or having an ambition but simply fulfilling purpose. Coming from a humble background under my parents I simply find myself growing up loving God and the things of the kingdom”
“My wife and I have been well fed with the word of God by Bishop Oyedepo. He has been used by God to guide us on the path of destiny. As a trailblazer, he has inspired us in the pursuit of the divine plan and as a prophet he has provided us adequate covering in the journey of life. Meeting with God’s servant became like entering into a school and life-transforming lessons have been learnt.
“Such is the story of my adventure with Bishop Oyedepo. Greatness is not a thing to wish for. But a journey to make by following, which by God’s help I have engaged myself since my first encounter with him in January 1980. Then I was about to be 19 years old.”
Abioye said his meeting with Bishop Oyedepo was “orchestrated by the Holy Spirit to fulfil divine purpose. Today, people look at me with admiration as a full-fledge duplicate of grace that is upon the life of my prophet, pastor, teacher, and mentor, Bishop David Oyedepo,” he said.
In October 2023, Bishop Oyedepo’s second son, Pastor Isaac Oyedepo, resigned from the church to start his own ministry.
Oyedepo, Not God, Retired Abioye From Living Faith Church – Dino Melaye is first published on The Whistler Newspaper