The Christ Apostolic Church has faulted comments by Commonwealth of Zion Assembly founder, Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo, about its founder, Apostle Joseph Ayo Babalola.
In a viral sermon clip, Fatoyinbo described Babalola as “highly anointed” but without wealth, adding that he wondered what happened to the late evangelist’s children. The remarks drew strong reactions from CAC members and other Christians, prompting the church to issue a statement on Wednesday.
Pastor Ade Alawode, the church’s Director of Publicity, said the leadership does not usually engage in social media disputes but decided to respond to correct what it called “misleading narratives” and to protect Babalola’s legacy.
“To equate anointing or ministerial success with material wealth is biblically flawed,” the statement said, quoting Luke 12:15: “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”
The church accused Fatoyinbo of pushing a prosperity-focused view of ministry that demeans those without riches and encourages greed in a morally troubled society. It also dismissed the claim that Babalola’s children had faded from public view, revealing that two of them, Mama Eunice Wuraola Ogini and Apeke Adeniyi, are alive, “blessed, fulfilled, and quietly serving the Lord.”
Born in 1904, Babalola is remembered as a pioneering evangelist known for miraculous healings, mass conversions, and church planting in Nigeria and the Gold Coast. The CAC said he donated land to the church, sponsored education, fed the poor, and “lived in a befitting home, drove one of the best Ford Jeeps of his time, and never lacked divine provision.”
The statement noted that he was honoured by colonial authorities during Queen Elizabeth II’s 1956 visit to Nigeria, arguing that such recognition was not given to someone destitute. Quoting Acts 3:6, the church asked Fatoyinbo: “Was Peter still anointed or not?”
It urged Fatoyinbo to publicly apologise to “millions of sons and daughters of Apostle Babalola around the world,” stressing that the true measure of anointing lies in sacrificial service, not material wealth.
Babalola died in 1959 at the age of 55, but his legacy remains central to Nigerian Pentecostal history. Fatoyinbo has not yet responded to the church’s statement.
