Winners Chapel Vice Presidents Set to Retire After Decades of Service

Bishops David Abioye and Thomas Aremu to Step Down Following Revised Retirement Policy

Two long-serving vice presidents of Living Faith Church, popularly known as Winners Chapel, Bishops David Abioye and Thomas Aremu, are set to retire after more than four and three decades of service, respectively. This move follows the church’s recent decision to lower the retirement age from 60 to 55 years, as per its revised operational manual, “The Mandate.”

Multiple sources, including a senior pastor within the church who requested anonymity due to a lack of authorization to speak on the matter, confirmed the planned retirements to The PUNCH on Thursday. The sources also indicated that the bishops’ retirement is expected to take place around the birthday celebration of the church’s founder, Bishop David Oyedepo.

A member of the church at its headquarters in Ota, Ogun State, shared insight into the development: “We have heard that Bishop Abioye and Bishop Aremu in Ibadan will leave during Bishop Oyedepo’s birthday celebration. That is the new rule in the church; only Bishop Oyedepo can remain in his position for life. One of the bishops has even been considering leaving for a while, so this isn’t news to some of us.”

Efforts to obtain confirmation from the church’s media team were unsuccessful, as calls and messages to their offices went unanswered.

Bishop David Abioye, 63, and Bishop Thomas Aremu, 67, have been integral figures in the growth of the church over the years. However, according to the new retirement policy, only Bishop Oyedepo is exempt from the age limit, with future leaders allowed to serve one or two terms of seven years each, subject to the Board of Trustees’ approval.

According to Church Times, farewell services have been scheduled for the outgoing bishops. Bishop Abioye’s valedictory service will be held on Friday, October 18, 2024, at the Living Faith Church in Durumi, Abuja. Meanwhile, Bishop Aremu’s farewell will take place at the LFC Basorun in Ibadan, Oyo State, on Tuesday, October 15, 2024.

Bishop Abioye, currently the Senior Pastor of Living Faith Church, Goshen City, Abuja, has a long-standing history with the church, having met Bishop Oyedepo in 1979. He led one of the church’s pioneering branches in 1987 and was consecrated as a bishop in 1993 at the age of 32.

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