A senior member of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), City of David Parish, Quincy Ayodele, has refuted claims that former Pastor-in-charge, Idowu Iluyomade, left the church in rebellion.
Instead, she disclosed that he was officially barred from the church after serving a three-month suspension.
In a conversation with media personality Daddy Freeze, which was shared on his YouTube channel, Ayodele expressed her surprise at how the situation unfolded. She mentioned that she had expected Iluyomade to be reinstated after his suspension, either in his former parish or another RCCG parish.
However, she was shocked to learn that he received a letter prohibiting him from stepping into the City of David.
“We were expecting that after the three months, he would be restored to the City of David, but to our surprise, what we heard was that he was given a letter that he must not step into the City of David,” Ayodele said.
She further explained that she accompanied Iluyomade several times to the RCCG headquarters during his suspension and believed that church leaders would eventually welcome him back. However, when that did not happen, some elders took it upon themselves to appeal on his behalf.
“They wrote letters and signed their names on the letters to Pastor Adeboye. But there was no response from Baba Adeboye,” she revealed.
Following the rejection, Iluyomade and his family began attending Kings Court, another RCCG parish that he had pioneered years ago. However, they were soon informed that they could not remain there either.
Ayodele expressed deep concern over the church’s decision, recalling how close Pastor Iluyomade was to RCCG’s General Overseer, Pastor Enoch Adeboye. She noted that the two shared a father-son relationship and questioned why Iluyomade was being treated this way.
She also recalled how Iluyomade had dedicated himself to RCCG’s growth and community service, building free schools, feeding the less privileged weekly, and raising funds for various church projects.
Regarding rumors that the late former Access Bank CEO, Herbert Wigwe, was the primary financier of the City of David’s Trinity Towers project, Ayodele dismissed the claims. She stated that many people contributed significantly to the construction and were just as dedicated as Wigwe.
Despite numerous appeals from church members and influential Nigerians, Pastor Adeboye reportedly remained firm in his decision. Ayodele recounted how people begged on Iluyomade’s behalf, even going as far as kneeling and rolling on the floor, yet their pleas were unsuccessful.
She also revealed that Pastor Iluyomade had no initial plans to start his own church but felt abandoned by those he had helped in the past. She described his emotional state when she visited him, saying he was deeply hurt by the way he was treated.
She said. “He does not even know how to start a church. He was an Anglican before he joined RCCG. His father was a reverend. He had left Anglican for almost 32 years. If he goes back to Anglican, where is he going to start from?
“I can tell you that the people they helped abandoned them in their moment of trials. They were not even praying for him in the City of David that he left. That was what made me go to him. When I got to him, he was weeping, telling me that he was told not to step into the church.”
Ayodele was particularly troubled by comments reportedly made by Pastor Adeboye during a recent visit to City of David, where he suggested that those who left the church were “demons” and that “devils” built Trinity Towers.
“I started wondering if this my daddy is talking. What is going on?” she questioned.
Despite everything, Ayodele remains hopeful that the matter can still be resolved. She stated that she has not joined Iluyomade’s new church because she believes reconciliation is still possible.
She also expressed a desire to meet with Pastor Adeboye personally to appeal for forgiveness on Iluyomade’s behalf.
