There are indications that Pastor Enouch Adeboye, General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) in Nigeria, has retired.
He announced the decision on Saturday morning and will be replaced by Pastor Joseph Obayemi.
It is not yet known why he stepped down.
He had earlier promised that he would retired at age, 70. But at 70 four years ago, he explained to members of the church that God told him He had not finished with him at 70. Thus, he stayed on.
Adeboye, 74, was appointed general overseer of the church in 1991, taking over from Papa Akindayomi, who had died in 1990.
The newly appointed General Overseer was the former Special Assistant to the General Overseer (SATGO) on Finance.
Adeboye also appointed Pastor Johnson Odesola, who was the Special Assistant on Administration and Personnel, as the church Secretary. Adeboye was born on March 2, 1942, in Ifewara, Osun State.
Pastor Adeboye had his B.Sc. in Mathematics at University of Nigeria Nsukka, and subsequently got his PhD in Applied Mathematics from the University of Lagos, and worked as a lecturer in Mathematics at the Universities of Lagos and Ilorin, before going into full time priesthood in 1984.
After joining the RCCG in 1973, he began working to translate the sermons of its then Pastor and founder, Rev. Josiah Olufemi Akindayomi, from Yoruba into English.
In 1981, Adeboye was appointed General Overseer of the church.
For three years he performed the role part-time, still lecturing at Ilorin. He finally gave up his university position to preach full-time. The church, which was not well known prior to Adeboye’s ascendance has grown phenomenally, to become Nigeria’s biggest, with branches globally in about 190 countries, including more than 14,000 in Nigeria.
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