The church where Nollywood actor, Solomon Akiyesi attempted to marry another woman while still legally married [read initial story] is the Overcomers World Outreach, and to show they were not flouting the law, they have responded to the incident with an official statement. The writer, Chika Moses, is a journalist and the daughter ofthe General Overseer of the Overcomers Church, Bishop N.E. Moses. [see his video]
She writes well and moderately, but no need to call into question the timing of the first wife, what if she just heard about the wedding at the last minute? I do pity the second wife, but if she has been married traditionally as is usually the case, then she is legit in the customary side. As for the would-be bigamist, I saw his FB note, no wrds SMH. As they say, age is no indicator of maturity, and going to church is no determinant to knowing to do what is right.
What was meant to be a day of celebration – the wedding ceremony of one of our members Uloma Agwu to Mr. Solomon Akiyesi at the Overcomers Church World Outreach in Aguda – was sullied by an ugly incident. Immediately following the praise and worship session and before the officiating commenced, a woman who claims to be the lawful wife of the groom disrupted the ceremony. She was accompanied by people who sought only to wreck havoc in the church. They were unruly and violent.
We regret the ugly series of events that followed this brash display. At the Overcomers Church, we do our due diligence to ensure a couple set to wed is right in the eyes of the law and in the eyes of God. To the best of our knowledge, Mr. Akiyesi, was unmarried. The Overcomers Church World Outreach regrets that the woman who disrupted the wedding chose such a time to do so. There is no ideal situation here, but it would have been right that she bring the case before church officials in a manner befitting a house of worship. This was not the case.
The groom, Mr. Akiyesi, has apologized to the Church, his bride-to-be, Ms. Agwu, and family and friends that gathered for the wedding. “This happened because I tried to cut corners,” he said. He admits he did not properly dissolve his previous marriage to his first wife and says he is determined to do what is necessary to rectify the awful situation. We apologize for the ugly scene this caused at our Church and apologize to those who witnessed it. It is not exemplary behavior and not who we are as a Church.
The General Overseer of the Overcomers Church World Outreach, Bishop N.E. Moses, addressed the congregation after order was restored.
Bishop Moses prayed for the couple, Mr. Akiyesi and Ms. Agwu, but he did not legally wed them – no documents were signed so as not to disobey the law. Mr. Solomon Akiyesi and Ms Uloma Agwu will not be legally joined together until the matter is properly settled by lawful authorities.
Our Bishop has urged us to take a lesson from this and be careful of the decisions we make in life, so the consequences don’t hurt us in the future. It is a lesson we take well.
We stand by Ms. Agwu. She has been a dedicated member of the church and we will continue to support her and Mr. Akiyesi. It is our hope and prayer that in all of this, God is glorified and His house of worship above reproach.
Chika Moses
Media Representative,
Overcomers Church World Outreach
Eh? Before nko,she be ur member nw,who u go support? Why ru claming d guy was unmarried? The church didn't do their job jare
ReplyDeleteI appreciate their statement, but Churches in Nigeria have to learn to do better.
ReplyDeleteI think they should not have said anything.this their press release e get as it be jor! Too many loopholes for Nigerians to see!
ReplyDeletewell-written but there is a certain tone there that I do not agree with. Plus, why did the Bishop go ahead to bless the new couple. He should have told them to go and come back when all matters are settled.
ReplyDeleteSome of these churches and the people in them are a hot mess.
DeleteI love d senior wife action,men usually think they can eat their cake and have it. And this is a big lesson to all the girls that are always looking for an already made men,and to the church as a whole let them be sensitive to the spirit.Tuface was smarter,he went outside the country to avoid this type of embarrassment(lol)
ReplyDeleteHe has not legally been married before.so
DeleteBut it's "exemplary" behavior to facilitate Bigamist/ adulterous wedding ceremony, I wanted to say men, but sometimes human beings do the darndest things, it's not even the act that worries me, it's his lack of remorse (or perceived remorse I guess)
ReplyDeleteIt was well written but there are still a lot of buts..
ReplyDeleteI don't want to sound judgemental but I think this is more like a political motivated statement to try and clear the church name,the couple especially the lady but to me its more like giving them a worse image cos I would have believed that the church is totally ignorant in the matter but now I can see they see no big deal in what the man has done,its just a little oversight on his part...I can't but remember that the bible says we are the light of the world,we are supposed to put works of darkness to shame but if the church is biased,I wonder if they can see well talkless of giving others light,well you can't give what you don't have..I feel bad,almost angry and sad abt some of these our churches and their owners actions and reactions
ReplyDelete