By HigherEd


Background: Bishop Adjeman a Ghanian was a protege of Oyedepo in Kaduna and was ordained as bishop by same Oyedepo and then transferred to head Winners Chapel Ghana which consisted of 14 churches spread across Ghana, kingdom heritage schools and church house. Bishop Adjeman later re-registered the church in his own name, secede and the drama broke loose.




In 2004 Bishop Adjeman staged a takeover of the Ghanian branch of Winners Chapel after the Headquarters in Canaanland Ota, Nigeria attempted to transfer him to winners chapel Ibadan when he refused to continue remitting the $60,000.00 monthly church income that was erstwhile remitted to the Nigerian headquarter(Usually Money is remitted from all branches of the world to Nigeria then after, certain percentages would be returned to the branches while HQ keeps rest)

After bishop Adjeman revealed how much was transported to Nigeria every week, all hell was let loose in Ghana as the debate became a Nigeria vs Ghana debate. Some Ghanaians felt it was wrong for a church in Ghana to remit money to a church in Nigeria, therefore took sides with Bishop Adjeman. Others felt Adjeman was disloyal to his former boss in Nigeria and should leave the church using the right way and not taking over any of the church's properties, members or name.

The Ghanian branch of Winners Chapel Ghana was started in 1996 and already had 14 branches, Kingdom Heritage school(s) etc while Adjeman was transferred to Ghana in 2002. However Adjeman claimed that when he got back to Ghana he met the church badly run and therefore when Govt authorities in Ghana called for Churches to be registered as companies, Bishop Adjeman went ahead to re-register the church in his own name and excluded the names of all the Nigerian trustees without informing the Nigerian church of the new regulatory development nor asking for their assent

Bishop Adjeman Seeks Financial Independence From Winners Chapel Nigeria

The initial aim of Adjeman wasn't so clear at this stage. But what is sure is that Adjeman wanted at least financial independence from Nigeria at some point. The Ghanian church had kicked against the practice of money being "illegally" transferred to Nigeria. The Ghanian church claimed that Winners Chapel isn't a limited liability and should not transfer money to Nigeria only to later receive some percentages of it.

Winners Chapel Nigeria Transfers Adjeman To Ibadan

Following Adjeman's refusal to keep remitting money to Headquarters in Nigeria he was transferred to Ibadan, Oyo state.

Adjeman Rejects Ibadan Transfer

Bishop Adjeman rejected Ibadan transfer and notified church members that he was been transferred because of his refusal to remit money to Nigeria. Some members cheered Adjeman on and encouraged him to disregard the transfer.


Bishop Adjeman Sacked By Winners Chapel HQ in Nigeria


Once Adjeman had refused to honor his transfer to Ibadan, Adjeman was then sacked by the Nigerian Headquarters.

Ghana Pentecostal Fellowship Demands Adjeman should Vacate Church For Winners Chapel Nigeria

Following the attempt at secession the Ghanian Pentecostal Fellowship ordered Adjeman to vacate the Winners Chapel premises. The argument of GPF stemmed from the fact that Winners Chapel Ghana was built with seed funding from the Nigerian church therefore it should be returned to the mother church in Nigerian.

Oyedepo's Faction Of Winners Chapel Intl Sues Adjeman's Winners Chapel Ghana To Court

While attempts where being made to resolve the crisis of ownership, two factions where quickly created. The Oyedepo faction(now referred to as Winners Chapel Intl, Ghana) and the Adjeman's faction referred to as Winners Chapel Ghana. The both factions where unaware that the battle they had just began was going to last for the next 14 years in the Ghanian judicial system.


Oyedepo's Faction(WCI) Starts All Over Again

Once the Adjeman faction had retained the church premises in 2004 the Oyedepo faction secured another space not too far away where they began worshipping as they began tussle with winners chapel Ghana led by Adjeman.( It is important to note that there was never a direct lawsuit between Winners Chapel Nigeria and Adjeman's faction of Winners Chapel Ghana)

As the Crisis metarmophosed the GPF equally admonished Oyedepo to settle Adjeman so he can go and start his own ministry. Oyedepo initially disagreed querying if that wouldn't be tantamount to a bribe. The GPF however encouraged him to see it as a way of setting up a Son.



Adjeman Makes A Request Of $50,000, A House and Car As Conditions For Handing Over the Church

To settle the problem, Adjeman made a demand that he be paid $50,000 as severance, along with the church mission house and a car. Oyedepo vehemently opposed this but he was persuaded to see Adjeman as a son and not a rebel and that he should see the money given to Adjeman as a parting gift to a son. Bishop Oyedepo, after due consultation with his church elders, was said to have agreed to approve $100,000 but without a car and a house. This didn’t go down well with Adjeman and he decided to take over the church for himself.


Adjeman Visits Oyedepo in 2010 "To Return Church Properties"

Seemingly feeling remorseful, Adjeman visited Oyedepo in 2010 against the wishes of his lawyers. There, Oyedepo reportedly agreed to let Adjeman have all the properties but should drip the "winners chapel" tag from his church name which was the root of the contention. Adjeman agreed to drop the name and even church propertiea. But Adjeman changed his mind as he got back to Ghana.



Ghanian Court Delivers Judgment in 2017 In Favor Of Adjeman

13 years after in 2017 the Ghanian court dismissed the lawsuit by Winners Chapel Intl(Oyedepo's faction). According to the court, winners chapel Ghana is a registered and recognized church in Ghana as it was duly registered by Adjeman and therefore won the case. However properties acquired between 1996 and 2002 must be valued and half returned in cash value to Oyedepo's faction. However judgment was not giving as regards the name of the church.

Winners Chapel Intl Today And Winners Chapel Ghana

The Oyedepo faction(WCI) started again in 2004 after the unfortunate split. It now has a network of 150 churches in Ghana and is about getting its own university. However winners chapel Ghana led by Adjeman has plunged from 14,000 members as at the time of secession to 1,000 members.

The day of secession as told by a Ghanian in church.

According to Paul Agbai

"A lot had been going on prior to the coup de tat that day, a Wednesday... In April 2004. Prior to that day, the Pastors from winners chapel Ghana had gone to Lagos for annual pastors retreat of which George Adjeman himself was supposed to go but he didn't and rather handpicked those pastors loyal to him to go. News had gone round before the arrival of the Pastors that those who went to Lagos were made to sign some undertaken against their will, but no one could ascertain this claim. I came to church that night, driving towards the church, behind one Pastor Richard Appiah, who was next to Bishop Adjeman in seniority, himself just coming from the Lagos trip and was heading to Church that night.

Just by the gate of the church, the head of Crowd Control Unit, CCU, stopped him and said "Oga" has said that all the pastors who went to Lagos should not be allowed in. This pastor Richard Appiah gave a note to the brother to go and give the Bishop that he, Richard, had come but Bishop Adjeman sent a message back that he should meet him in the house by 9pm. I was in my car, just behind Pastor Richard as all these unfolded, I was wondering and a bit confused because of all the preceding tension buildups. Well, Richard's wife got down from the car and trekked in to take her sit with the choir I was leading then. I reversed my car abit for Richard to pull back before I could enter the church in my car.

Towards the end of the service, Bishop Adjeman stood up with a script in his hand and started....."when a child in the womb delays in coming out, a surgical operation is needed, we are about doing a surgical operation." Along the lines of the script, was these statements that shocked me to my bones and marrows till date. Bishop Adjeman said that "all the pastors that went to Lagos had been held and detained against their wills and he doesn't know where they are and that the church should rise up so that we pray for their release from those holding them in Nigeria.." I stood up with others...but instead of praying..I was lost in wondering if this was a kind of home movies theatre or a church, I am in?.and congregation prayed like they were casting out demons in Africa...you know that scene....I was asking myself...is it not now that this man asked the pastors to meet him at a place for meeting at 9pm...but unsuspecting souls were led astray to make it look like its a fight between Ghana and Nigeria... 13 years down the line...no sense of remorse... Not even after he later called Bishop Oyedepo that he wanted to come to see him for restitution and he was granted audience. In that meeting captured on Video, he told Bishop Oyedepo that he was ready to let go and Bishop told him he should just drop the name that is creating confusion and go with the properties to start his own life assembly church he jettisoned. Bishop Adjeman said, he won't only drop name of winners chapel he is using but would drop all properties too..(I will soon release that Video...stay tuned)...he returned to Ghana and changed his mind.........End of my eye witness account of that night of "surgical operations" to remove winners chapel, Ghana from winners chapel international... But truth is always truth and if hidden, how can it be known...hence my putting this here!

Eye witness account...


https://educationexplorersite./2018/04/21/how-bishop-adjeman-successfully-hijacked-winners-chapel-ghana-from-oyedepo/

Adjeman successfully hijacked a billion dollar corporation. That's ingenious

Mumu people

Their problem.

Its nothing new to LFC. If you are privilege to become a pastor in winners and see the type of money Oyedepo controls, you will force to open your own church by the greedy spirit.


Winners and RCCG are operating a multi billion dollars scam.

People have mind o

Putting this story out there is in no attempt to embarrass anyone or any church. As i always walk a very careful lane when reporting issues regarding the church. I have barely laid the facts as I remembered them.

The bible tells the story of how Lucifer rebelled in God's own perfect territory and was cast out with his entire team. So if rebellion and secession can happen in Heaven then it surely can happen in church.
If Paul and Barnabas(both anointed) could part ways over differences then it can happen between Oyedepo and Adjeman while we agree both of them are still anointed.
Therefore let no atheists nor unbeliever jump on this as reason to villify or misrepresent the church.

The church is Christ bride but it is not perfect, but it is still Christ bride nonetheless. Issue like this are common in Christianity, even from the early days. It then takes wisdom and maturity to handle these challenges as they come. This is not peculiar to Nigerian churches either. Unfortunately, we Christians might continue hearing stories like this till Jesus comes back. So let it not shake your faith in the mandate of the church. It is just one of those things.

I do not agree with Adjeman but I kind of understand him. I know in his heart he regards the church leadership and even respects Oyedepo. But somewhere there he feels he is being cheated and that would be where he might have erred. The prosperity character of a church like winners chapel flows from the top and trickles down. Whether the branch is in somalia or ogbomoso it would prosper. Same way the multiplication anointing in RCCG flows from top to bottom. I'm sure the Ghanian church was even astounded that they could contribute a whole $60,000 a month(back in 2004). Adjeman should have just learnt the principle and left. Men like Enenche, Adeyemi, Poju and Ibeyiomie learnt under Oyedepo and today have equally financially strong ministries irrespective of poor economy.

When the succession plan was allegedly closed to Abioye via church constitution people told him to leave and create his own church. Considering Abioye could cart away thousands of Winners members yet wisdom was present and Abioye refused to leave Oyedepo. And today, even the apparent successor sees Abioye as his Spiritual father and mentor(as I was told).

I also salute Oyedepo's wisdom in not going on a pulpit sponsored tirade against Adjeman. It is better recreational bloggers like me report these things than for it to be heard bitterly on the pulpit.

Lastly there is nothing necessarily wrong with remitting money to headquarters. The early gentile churches also remitted money back to jerusalem. Whatever process has been set up by the leadership of the church should be followed. If you can't, just leave!

The living faith church is such a wealthy church. I'm not sure but I remember reading somewhere that Winners UK either makes or remit about £5 million to Nigerian HQ. UK doesn't like it but there is nothing they can do about it without angering people of African descent living in UK and attending these churches. This kind of church must protect its successional path. When there is so much money in a church people would kill to get to the top.

.

what should we call this one now??

Amu ngwere

Im.sure Adjeman hs an afonja mentor.
Dey r always backstabars

My greatest fear is that dangerous politics is happening in the church and it's worrisome.

In my honest opinion. Since pastors claim the church belongs to it's members.

Nigerian churches should be registered as Public Limited Companies (PLC)
Listed on the stock exchange so it's members can benefit through stocks and dividends.

It is not fair that members sow, while only the overseers reap. Even Jesus won't approve of such an exploitative arrangement.

Considering the amount of profit these church investments rake in, it is only rational that they should be taxed too.

Very true!

I was fully aware of these events. Bishop Oyedepo sent some pastors back then including Pastor Abraham Aiyelabowo who was the resident pastor of Winners Chapel Uyo to take over from Bishop Adjeman. This was met with stiff resistance by Adjeman to the extent that there were fists cuffs and I even heard a gun was drawn (possibly by the Adjeman Faction).

Pastor Abraham Aiyelabowo was eventually made the resident Pastor of the new rebuilt Winners Chapel Ghana but the man still decamped and founded his own Triumphant Global Ministries Ghana which is booming today because the guy is full of humor and a crowd puller too. I remember his days as pastor in Winners Chapel Uyo only that the guy is a sexual predator who was shagging many women in the church back then both married and unmarried. The guy even bin wan shag my girlfriend Itoro who was always going to the house to help his wife with house chores. I was vexed about it and approached him only for him to attempt to sin-shame me in the congregation.

It is so painful that Bishop George Adjeman who I have known as a charismatic vibrant man on the pulpit would do something like that. The fact that Bishop Oyedepo gave him those terms shows that he (Oyedepo) has a large heart.

Anyways, after every...it's business as usual.

Game meet game.

Church na business... If you know you know

Haa

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its all about the money finally

looks same with Ashimolowo and four square Church



sad

Conmen always scheming to out smart each other.
These days GOs dey carry their subordinates go take oath for better fetish shrine. Church biz continues

And Bishop could not open the gate of Hell

HigherEd:
By HigherEd



https://educationexplorersite./2018/04/21/how-bishop-adjeman-successfully-hijacked-winners-chapel-ghana-from-oyedepo/

We were young then. I remember this situation very well. It is well

ll

greencard:
what should we call this one now??

Aba international community business

Hijack franchise

Actor no dey die.

Well, in the corporate world, we call it an 'hostile takeover'.