It may not be long before the Aso Villa Chapel located within the presidential quarters in Abuja is relocated as new reports emerged last night that the President is under pressure to relocate the Villa Chapel, where Christians have been worshipping on Sundays.
Despite denials by top officials of the President Buhari administration,
Vanguard has reported that it has uncovered how pressure is being mounted on President Buhari to relocate the Aso Rock Villa Chapel where Christians worship on Sundays.
The Church which was built and inaugurated by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, is said to be too close to Buhari’s bedroom and kitchen. Report states that Obasanjo deliberately cited the church beside his official residence to enable him take part in worship and prayers from the comfort of his bedroom.
The media reports which caused nationwide condemnation, had revealed how security agents prevented the Villa Chapel choristers from entering the building for their weekly rehearsal on Saturday, August 29, 2015.
It took the intervention of Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, who reached out to his principal, before the security men left the building. But the relocation threat to the Chapel is real.
According to Vanguard, as prelude, the Children’s church, which forms part of the Villa Chapel, has been shut and some rooms, converted to shops for storing food items. As a result of the closure of the children’s church, the children were forced to relocate to the office of the Chaplain, Pastor Joseph Sheyi Malomo, for their normal service.
A source at the Presidency said on Tuesday, "As we speak, the children’s church remains shut and everything relating to the church has been removed. We had to beg them to allow us to remove our property. The children’s church has been turned into a store.
"As a result of the unforeseen development, we had to collapse some facilities to accommodate the children and keep our worship going. That was why the Chaplain said that the church had not been shut but ‘we only had some procedural issues that needed to be sorted out."
The presidency is, however, considering relocating both the Mosque and the Church to a more spacious area in the Villa so as to forestall accusations of partiality.