Revelations that worshippers at the headquarters of Christ Embassy Church in Lagos had to pay N1,000 each as gate fee to attend a New Year’s Eve service presided over by Pastor Chris Oyakhilome have shocked many Nigerians and infuriated others. Worshippers who
could not afford such passes were turned back. While the practice is not new in Christ Embassy Church, it led to an uproar in January 2011 after it was first introduced on 31 December, 2010. Many people described it then as extortion, abuse of ‘Jesus’ teachings.
But the church explained, though informally, that it was a way of controlling the crowd and discouraging thousands of people who come to church once a year on 31 December and prevent “real worshippers” from securing seats at the headquarters on that important night.
The practice is now seen as routine. With a sitting capacity of roughly 20,000 seats, Christ Embassy might have made at least N20 million from the sale of gate passes used for the crossover service. Since the revelations were made public last week, Nigerians have continued to express shock, outrage and indignation with many finding it hard to believe…… maybe it was Wizkid dt led praise n worship. Dt boy from Ojuelegba does nothing for free…
