PRIMATE of The African Church, His Eminence, Julius Osayande Olayinka Abbe, has dismissed his purported suspension from office by a group of church members, describing it as laughable, illegitimate. He urged the public to ignore it.

He stated this at a press conference held on Tuesday at The African Church’s National Secretariat, Model College, Ifako-Ijaiye, Lagos, where the cleric maintained that he remained the 12th Primate, indisputable spiritual and overall head of The African Church.

He urged members of the church at home and abroad to note that the claim by The Most Revd Augustine Afolabi Odufuwa to be the acting primate was false, describing him as an impostor who chose to impersonate the office of the primate because of greed and inordinate ambition.

According to him, Elder Pius Adedayo Sobambo and Chief Peter Okiti are not the Acting Lay President and Acting Deputy Lay President of The African Church, respectively, as they claimed, “but irresponsible layabouts, who have their eyes on 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.

In a statement signed by the Primate and titled, “The current impasse in The African Church,” Abbe said it was disheartening to witness the current impasse in the Church, which he described as the foremost indigenous Church in Nigeria.

He said: “It is demoralising to see our brethren resort to spreading falsehoods through the media.”

The Primate recalled that he initially tried to ignore the actions of the group that claimed to have suspended, but he realized the need to preserve the image of the church, and the need for parishioners and the public to know the truth; hence, he decided to debunk every misinformation peddled against him by addressing the press.

The statement reads in part: “The fact remains that this rebellious group has consistently demonstrated an unholy attitude, refusing to change. Those familiar with our Church’s history will recognise that these individuals have caused trouble for previous primates, including Primates Solomon Olayiwola Babawale Oyawoye, Abraham Onadotun Olumuyiwa Onanuga, and Emmanuel Josiah Udofia.

“These power brokers believe the primate should take instructions from them, dictating the direction of the Church. Their recent press release attributed the current crisis to the 2018 Conference election, yet they omitted that their own members in 2018 told us what happened then was right but woke up to sing a new tune after six years.”

“At our 2023 Executive Meeting in Ibeju Lekki, Lagos, they voluntarily submitted to a vote on the screened list, only to be defeated. This realisation that they were no longer popular in the Church marked the beginning of their efforts to disrupt the peace and frustrate election efforts.

According to him, the members fighting him are not motivated by concerns for Church planting, doctrine, or evangelism; rather, their sole focus is on securing offices, titles, and authority within the Church, thereby neglecting spiritual programmes and often engaging in unbecoming behaviour.

Abbe explained that the highest organ of the church met in Calabar on June 19, 2025 and took some salient decisions that are binding on all units of the Church.