Bishop Oyedepo’s deputies, Bishops Abioye, Aremu, retire next week

After serving the church for 40 and 30 years, respectively, Bishops David Abioye and Thomas Aremu, both Vice Presidents of the Living Faith Church worldwide (Winners Chapel) under Bishop David Oyedepo, are retiring next week.

Multiple church insiders, including an unnamed pastor, have confirmed the impending retirement of the duo.

According to the sources, the retirement aligned with Winners Chapel’s operational manual, The Mandate, which recently revised the retirement age from 60 to 55.

A member who attends the headquarters church in Ota, Ogun State, said:“We have heard that Bishop Abioye and the other Bishop Aremu in Ibadan will leave during the Bishop Oyedepo birthday celebration.

“That is the new law in the church; only Bishop Oyedepo can remain in his position for life.

“One of the two bishops has even been considering leaving for a while, so this is not news to some of us in the church.”

Efforts by our correspondent to verify the development with the church’s media officials were unsuccessful, as they did not answer calls or respond to messages sent via WhatsApp.

Bishop Abioye is currently 63, while Bishop Aremu is 67, Persecondnews gathered.

Future leaders may serve one or two terms of seven years each, subject to the Board of Trustees’ approval, but only the church’s founder (Bishop Oyedepo) will be able to serve beyond this new age limit.

Church Times reports that the two bishops will have valedictory services at their respective churches.

Bishop Aremu’s farewell service will take place at LFC Basorun in Ibadan, Oyo State, on Tuesday, October 15, 2024, while Bishop Abioye’s ceremony will take place in Durumi, Abuja, on Friday, October 18, 2024.

Bishop Abioye, currently the Senior Pastor of Living Faith Church, Goshen City, Abuja, first met Bishop David Oyedepo in 1979.

At the age of 32, he led one of the church’s five pioneer branches in 1987 and received consecration in 1993.

Bishop Aremu, who transitioned to full-time ministry after a successful accounting career, was one of the seven bishops consecrated in November 1999 at Garden of Faith, Kaduna.