Members seal off Adventist church in Abia over leadership crisis

The Seventh Day Adventist Church has sealed off its Abia north conference at Umuoriehi, in the Umuahia north LGA, over the leadership crisis rocking the headquarters.

A conference is made up of a number of churches in an area such as a state. In Abia, members from 17 districts comprise the conference.

According to NAN, the church leaders sent the worshippers out of the church premises and bolted the gate after service on Saturday.

They also displayed placards with different inscriptions at the gate, such as “Sealed,”  “End of an era,” and “We pray for a new era of unity, peace, mission-mindedness and genuine spirituality”.

Speaking with journalists, Godson Chukwuocha, the leader of the Umuahia/Ubakala/Umunneochi zone, said the church passed a vote of no confidence on Enyinnaya Uguru, the head pastor and his executive.

He said the pastor and the executive have occupied the position as head of the conference for the past 12 years, adding that the church policy only gives room for a four-year tenure. 

Chukwuocha added that their tenure expired in February, but “the union, which is the superior, extended it to August after the plea by Uguru and his executive”.

“The union again extended it and expected them to organise another election and hand over to a new executive between Sept. 21  and Sept. 23, but they refused,” he said.

On his part, Iroabuchi Alozie, the secretary of the Umuahia/Ubakala/Umunneochi zone, said this year makes it the fourth since the leadership crisis started.

“But because we are men and women of integrity, we will not watch impunity continue in the Church of God,” he said.

“This is the fourth year we are in this crisis and we cannot continue like this. We want to stop it now.”