Joe Effiong, Uyo

The leadership crisis rocking the African Church may lead to the fragmentation of the 188-year-old church as some provinces have threatened to secede if the current primate of the church is not allowed to complete his tenure.

Already, Calabar and Rivers provinces have issued a breakaway warning to the arch cathedral of the church in Lagos, if the Western provinces of the church continued with the harassment of Dr Emmanuel Udofia, who is being threatened with sack if he does not vacate office by May this year when he shall have turned 60 years.

Udofia, who was received in a very colourful ceremony at St Stephen’s Cathedral of the church on Saturday in Uyo, has been told by the laity and clergy of the two provinces made up of Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross River and Delta states, to temporarily relocate to Uyo until the crisis is over, especially with the alleged threats to his life and those of his family members by some parishioners of the church in Lagos.

The vice lay president of Warri Diocese of the church, Mr Ezekiel Okorode, who spoke at Dr Udofia’s reception in Uyo, said the indignities to which the Western Provinces of the church had subjected the primate were in a way, bringing victory to Calabar and Rivers provinces.

“Today is a day of victory for our provinces. We have taken a step that will not be easy to reverse. We have told those bishops from the West to go back to their people. They don’t like us, and so we can’t like them. The western provinces must retrace their steps and apologise else it is backward never, forward ever,” Okorode said.

He explained that if Udofia, the only primate of African Church who is a non-Yoruba in the 118-year life of the church could be humiliated by the Western provinces, then, there was no basis for their continuous pretence to be together.

The legal adviser of Calabar Province, Justice Ezekiel Enang, said the two provinces would stand by the General Council decision of the church that the current primate should retire at 65 years after which the new rule of retirement at 60 would take effect.

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Similarly, the, medical adviser of the Calabar Diocese, Dr Nathaniel Adiakpan, expressed gratitude to God for preserving the life of the primate for him to return home alive, saying that was the most important thing.

“Injustice is what is playing out in African Church today. The same people who were bombarding us with calls to help them attend certain positions in the church only a few years ago are now the ones causing disunity.

“If Dr Udofia doesn’t enjoy the support of African Church Worldwide, no other primate will enjoy our support,” Adiakpan stressed.

However, the embattled primate, Dr Udofia, has said he had not relocated to Uyo because he still considered himself the Primate of African Church Worldwide, as such he would go to the arch cathedral anytime he felt like.

But he explained that it was necessary to pray for God’s intervention in the crisis as he would not want his tenure to be credited with infamous history of the beginning of fragmentation of the hitherto unified African Church.

“I don’t want the Yoruba living with us to leave in tears. They are not the cause of my leaving Lagos. I’m still the primate of African Church for now because we have decided to seek peace. We want everyone to pray for the church.

“If we allow this to happen, it will affect the entire church. As a church, we would have been better than this but for unnecessary obstacles we bring upon ourselves.”

Udofia, whose message was anchored on the Romans 8: 28-39, said that all things work together for to those who love the Lord.