No Amount of Pressure Will Make Us Remove Remi Tinubu as RCCG Pastor — Adeboye

Pastor Enoch Adeboye, General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, has drawn a hard line: First Lady Oluremi Tinubu stays on the church’s pulpit, and no amount of outside noise will change that.

Ordination came a decade before the presidency

Speaking during the RCCG’s monthly Holy Ghost Service at the Redemption Camp on Friday, Adeboye told the congregation that Mrs. Tinubu was ordained an Assistant Pastor more than ten years ago — well before her husband, Bola Tinubu, signaled any interest in running for the country’s highest office.

“She went through the full process of ordination and has not violated any of the church’s guidelines,” Adeboye said. “We will not yield to external pressure or sentiments that are not grounded in our doctrine.”

The statement comes after months of debate on social media and in some religious circles about whether a sitting First Lady should also be serving on the altar of one of Africa’s largest Pentecostal denominations. Critics say the dual role creates an uncomfortable overlap between government authority and spiritual leadership.

Church draws its own line

Adeboye was unambiguous: the RCCG runs on its own rules, and critics outside the church don’t get a vote on who preaches from its pulpits. He urged the congregation to see Mrs. Tinubu’s pastoral standing as a matter of personal faith — earned, not handed out as a political favour.

For Oluremi Tinubu, a former senator for Lagos Central who has long mixed public life with visible church involvement, the backing from her spiritual father settles the question — at least for now. The RCCG, with millions of members across Nigeria and a growing global footprint, has generally kept partisan politics at arm’s length, even as many of its congregants hold public office.

The message from the Redemption Camp was clear: the First Lady remains on the pulpit unless she runs afoul of church doctrine. And as far as Adeboye is concerned, she hasn’t.

Sources: BusinessDay, Sahara Reporters, Arise News, Daily Post