All may not be well among members of the Assemblies of God Church family as a factional group in the church has been dragged before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) by the Assistant General Superintendent of the Church over alleged fraudulent conversion of church funds.
In a petition submitted to the EFCC in September 2015 by Mr Eli Ugwu, counsel to the petitioner, Rev. Ramsey Ogagaoghene and four others, he accused the factional General Superintendent Rev. Dr. Chidi Okoroafor and six others of embezzlement and called on the EFCC to investigate cases of alleged fraudulent award of projects without due process and executing such projects themselves.
Rev. Ogagaoghene in the petition stressed that Rev. Dr. Okoroafor was an Assistant General Superintendent of the church until March 2014 when he broke away to form a parallel group after he failed to adequately explain accusations of mismanagement of church funds.
The petition read in part: “On behalf of the Assistant General Superintendent, Rev. Ramsey Ogagaoghene, Bright Arukwe, Clement Esochaghi, Oliver Udensi and Sunday Palma for and on behalf of pastors and other concerned members of the church, we claim that Rev. Vincent Alaje, Rev. Femi Adegoke, Mr. Dickson Ukpai, Mr. Michael Ugbor, Elder Mike Okoro and Tony Ewelike engaged in illegal and unauthorized business without the approval of the General Superintendent.
“Alaje unilaterally spent about N115 million belonging to the church, personally negotiated and concluded payments for three plots of lands and has started developing the plots without the consent and authority of the General Superintendent and other officers of the church.
“Alaje was fond of commandeering the money of the church, approving same by himself, and authorized payments without the consent of the General Superintendent. This was evidenced by his requisition of 5/4/2013 for the sum of N1.5 million which he tagged, ‘Trip to Ibadan with family.’
The unilateral stashing of fund was after the church magnanimously approved N2 million for him.”