David Oyedepo, the president and presiding bishop of Living Faith Church Worldwide, has dismissed some officials for allegedly stealing from the church’s treasury.
Oyedepo, who spoke on Saturday, January 11, 2020, during an empowerment summit organised for the church’s ordained workers.
The cleric did not disclose the number of officials affected.
“We had no choice but to dismiss them,” Bishop Oyedepo is quoted as saying by TheCable.
“You can imagine top church officials engaging in doubling figures and other dubious practices. After we dismissed them, we discovered more fraud.
“Those who should discover the fraud were the ones involved in it. One of them refused to confess until the last minute.
“Can you imagine accountants perpetrating fraud in the house of God?
“Don’t employ them, don’t sympathise. Whoever sympathises with the wicked is wicked himself. Don’t sympathise with any perpetrator of fraud, otherwise, you are a partaker of the evil act.”
Some Nigerians on social media attacked the cleric for his actions saying that he shouldn’t have dismissed the thieving officials because it’s “God’s money”.
https://twitter.com/Dabobelemabo/status/1216259372210360320
https://twitter.com/IKENNA_____/status/1216235088163282944
Many others came to his defence, however.
So a church treasury was looted and bishop oyedepo dismissed thoes that were involved, so one fool said he should have seen it in a vision before it happened….
Well he should have but he still caught them so we move 💪.
— AbroadStudy___ 🇦🇺 🇬🇧 (@Study1Australia) January 12, 2020
Pastor Oyedepo sacking officials for stealing does not mean he has not forgiven them.
Do we even know the level of crime they committed? Do we know if this is the first time? Abeg make we day reason some things before we start tweeting.#oyedepo
— A M A K A (@merit_maka) January 12, 2020
Trying to drag Oyedepo for sacking thieves is already among the most ridiculous things this year
— Y.O. (@yojora) January 12, 2020
This man, for all who care to know does not receive salaries nor allowances from the church, does not have an official car, does not receive royalties from the books he writes and does not receive any money from the schools or any organisation under the church #Oyedepo
— The Bridge (@Bridge64968118) January 12, 2020
Same man that says publicly that he vowed from the early days of the church that he would rather die than touch church money is the same man you all are excusing like this. Say what you know nothing about #Oyedepo
— The Bridge (@Bridge64968118) January 12, 2020
Oyedepo is often in the news for his fiery comments on the state of the nation and reports about his stupendous wealth. He founded Living Faith Church Outreach Ministries, also known as Winners Chapel, 39 years ago.
He was named as the world’s richest pastor Forbes with a networth of $150 million.