By Deborah Nnamdi
Presiding Bishop of Living Faith Church Worldwide, also known as Winners Chapel, David Oyedepo, has responded to speculations surrounding the departure of the church’s former First Vice President, Bishop David Abioye, insisting that the ministry operates strictly by its founding document, The Mandate.
Speaking on Sunday at the church’s headquarters in Ota, Ogun State, after the third service, Oyedepo cautioned critics to steer clear of church matters, stressing that order and structure remain the pillars of the ministry’s operations.
“The Mandate, which is the church’s manual, was written in 2012. Some of you need to go read it to understand what we are doing here,” Oyedepo said, adding that the directives contained in the book came to him directly and remain the guiding principle of the church.
He explained that the ministry is accountable to a board and emphasised that no individual could alter the system of operations.
“This is the place where the church would be built, which came to me alone. The directive to get the aircraft also came to me alone. I am not a loose person. Order brought us to where we are,” he declared.
Oyedepo also stressed that all staff, including his wife when she first joined, went through a formal recruitment process.
“Nobody ever worked here by saying, ‘God sent me.’ You write an application, you do an interview, you get an employment letter, and you respond,” he noted.
He urged both members and the wider public to study The Mandate for a proper understanding of how the church is run, amid speculation linking his remarks to Abioye’s exit.
