President and founder of Loveworld Incorporated, popularly known as Christ Embassy, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome, has reacted to the fire incident at the church’s headquarters in Oregun, Lagos.
REPORTERS AT LARGE earlier reported that a fire razed the white building in Ikeja on Sunday morning. At the time of the report, thick black smoke was still billowing from the tower.
The Lagos Fire and Rescue Service personnel were on the scene to put out the fire.
Speaking in one of the church services, Oyakhilome said the inferno presents an opportunity for the church to build a bigger and more befitting edifice.
“Some years ago, I wished I had a better design for the affected place. But then, it would have required that we take off the roof. But now, I’ve got the opportunity to have something better there,” he said.
“When something like this happens, what does God think? God just allows us to do something about it. What are we going to do? The house is gone, we clear out the place and build a better one. A more beautiful one. That is what we are going to do.
“Let the devil lick his wounds. We must look at life from the spiritual. This is not what we call an accident. Everything that happens in our lives is all planned.”
The Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service (LSFRS) said the fire had been controlled.
In a statement by Margaret Adeseye, the service’s director, LSFRS also blamed the church for spreading the fire.
Adeseye said that the fire escalated because the church’s fire service thought they could handle the situation without recourse to the Lagos fire service.
She said the cause of the fire would be made public after a proper investigation.
