Official Statement:

PROTEST OVER THE BRAZEN INJUSTICE IN
ST MATTHEWS ANGLICAN CHURCH, NKPOGWU, PORT HARCOURT.

We the undersigned, write on behalf of over 1,000 members of St Matthews Anglican Church, Nkpogwu, (SMAC) Port Harcourt to protest;

(a) The unconstitutional, autocratic, and repressive suspension of 16 registered members and communicants of the Church, broadcast on October 29th 2022 in a Zoom meeting on International Media, the Advent Cable Network Nigeria TV (ACNNTV), by the Primate of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), His Grace the Most Reverend Dr. Henry C. Ndukuba, without the right to fair hearing accorded these members as provided for in the Constitution and Canons of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion),

B) the dissolution of the elected Parish Church Council (PCC) and subsequent inauguration of a Caretaker Committee to oversee the affairs of the Church. The PCC is a constituent of duly elected members of the Church.
The tenure of the PCC expired in February 2022, The Vicar Ven Onyinye Matthias Okpala, as the Chairman of the Electoral committee called for nominations and the seconding of candidates for fresh elections. This nomination/seconding process was conducted and concluded, but the Vicar has continued to stall in the conduct of election of candidates into the PCC.

We have resorted to this open newspaper publication to air our views and here with state our position, due to the refusal of the authorities of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) to follow the provisions of the Constitution, and adjudicate fairly on the issues that have led to the crisis in the Church since the posting of Ven Onyinye Matthias Okpala as the Vicar of the Church in March 2021, and inform the reading/listening public, and correct the misinformation and inaccuracies contained in the letter signed by the General Secretary of the Church of Nigeria (The Venerable Gershinen Paul Dajur) and issued to the Press on 29th October 2022.

Having failed to obtain fair hearing from the authorities of our Church organization, we are compelled to make our case known in the court of public opinion in the hope that this will galvanize them to take appropriate action to redress the situation.


In conclusion, let it be noted that the restraint that has made us to hold on till this material time before coming out with a press release has been because of the reverence we have for the office and the person of the Primate of All Nigeria who also happens to be our supervising Bishop. However, it appears to us that there is an agenda by some persons to tarnish the image of the Primate of All Nigeria, with issues of what is happening in SMAC Nkpogwu being mirrored at Sapele and even far away North America.
For how else could it be explained that the same authorities that frown at taking Church matters out of the ambit of the conflict resolution mechanism of the Church is the same one dragging its members to the Police at the highest level? As it is not too late to do the right things, we thus prevail on the Church of Nigeria to, as a matter of urgency; do the right things as is expected of the Church whom Christ died for.


✍️ St Matthews Anglican Church Nkpogwu, Port-harcourt.
(Flame of the Anglican Revival)

Make we hear word.

This is your personal problem.