Apostolic Church gets N88m compensation for planned building demolition

The National President of the Apostolic Church of Nigeria, Pastor Gabriel Oladele Olutola, has expressed the church’s readiness to support the administration of Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State on infrastructural development. Towards this end, he said, the church had accepted to give up its branch situated at the heart of the state capital, to […]

The National President of the Apostolic Church of Nigeria, Pastor Gabriel Oladele Olutola, has expressed the church’s readiness to support the administration of Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State on infrastructural development. Towards this end, he said, the church had accepted to give up its branch situated at the heart of the state capital, to make way for a major road to be constructed by the state government.
Olutola stated this while receiving a cheque of N87,932,510 as compensation for  the church whose branch at Olaiya Junction in Osogbo has been marked for demolition to allow for the construction of Olaiya-Ita Olokan dual carriage way.
 The cleric said that the church is a partner with the governor in his quest to turn Osun’s fortune around for good, adding that the agreement by the church on the demolition of its branch for the project to enhance free flow of traffic at the popular Olaiya Junction in Osogbo was in good faith.
He also expressed satisfaction with the decision of the state to compensate the church, saying Governor Aregbesola has distinguished himself as “an epitome of transformation and performance.”
Olutola noted that the leadership of the church found it easy to cooperate with government on the removal of the church building simply because it had been the principle of the church to abide and support constituted authorities.
He said, “We want to thank God that the leadership of our church and the government of Osun were able to arrive at a meaningful conclusion that resulted in this compensation. Our general principle in the Apostolic Church is respect for constituted authorities and government, because the Holy Book (Bible) teaches us to obey those in the positions of authority. That is why we deemed it fit to release the church for the state to construct the road which we believe will serve the general public.
 “With this compensation, the Governor has really shown us his love for peace and passion for development which has manifested and impacted tremendously in the lives of Osun people. It is our duty as men of God to pray, support and assist government in all ramifications to achieve general success, and we are ready to continue to support this administration because once government fails, we all fail.”
Governor Aregbesola used the occasion to reiterate his administration’s commitment to turning the state around through “massive infrastructural development and financial re-engineering in the face of the present cash crunch affecting the country,”
 
He added that he would live up to his statutory responsibilities “regardless of the current economic situation the state may be encountering.”
 
The Governor noted that the church slated for demolition was valued at N57.9 million, but the state government, having considered the constant renovation of the church, resolved to add N30 million to its value, resulting in the compensation of N87.9 million.