Posted by By Simon Ateba on
Controversial pastor of the Household of God Church, and two-time presidential candidate, Reverend Chris Okotie, has completed arrangements for his big wedding party.
Controversial pastor of the Household of God Church, and two-time presidential candidate, Reverend Chris Okotie, has completed arrangements for his big wedding party.
He will be formally joined to Stephanie Henshaw, the woman he describes as the most beautiful on earth. To achieve this, the funky preacher and celebrity singer has directed wealthy members of his church to donate millions of naira in gifts and cash for his glamorous marriage.
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P.M.News gathered this morning, that there are 12 committees made up of members born in each month of the year. Members born in the month of June, Okotie's birth month, will contribute the most. The eloquent preacher was born on 16 June, 1958, in Delta State.
Aside this, it was learnt that Okotie has selected 120 members, 10 from each month, to constitute the wedding train. Each of them will be wearing aso ebi.
The celebrity pastor has also invited two journalists from each media organisation in the country to give total coverage to his second marriage.
Already, the ambience of the church has been very joyful as Okotie cannot stop telling his congregation how much he loves his wife-to-be, who had had two children and married twice in the past.
A church member who spoke with P.M.News this morning, disclosed that the church is currently agog ahead of the wedding.
'Everybody is happy with pastor getting married. He is a different person. Stephanie has changed him. He talks about her all the time in church. He loves her and we can`t wait to contribute and see that day come true," the church member said.
In a press statement made available to PM.News yesterday, Okotie disclosed that his traditional wedding will take place on 7 August, at 6, George Street, Ikoyi, Lagos, by 2 p.m.
He added that the registry ceremony will follow the next day, Friday, 8 August, at the Ikoyi registry, at 4p.m, and the thanksgiving and benediction will take place on Sunday, 10 August, at the Household of God Church, Oregun, Ikeja, Lagos.
The clergyman told his church members early this year that he will be getting married to Stephanie because of her beauty which he described as angelic.
The eloquent preacher had also said that Stephanie has been under his watch for five years and did not mind the number of children she has from her previous marriages.
Mid-last year, when Okotie made his choice public, his church almost broke up as some female celebrities who thought they were the favoured candidates for ‘the post‘ of Mrs. Okotie, received the shocker of their lives when he settled for Stephanie, the unassuming woman in his glamorous church.
Ladies like Sola Salako, church administrator for several years and Okotie's close aide; Vien Tetsola, a former Miss Nigeria; Ure Okezie, daughter of former minister, Dr. Okezie, and others, were rumoured to have left the church because of the announcement.
Celebrities such as Stella Damasus, Mofe Damijo, and many others were also said to have simply quit Okotie‘s church then, while some have reluctantly returned.
Okotie's marriage to Stephanie will be his second attempt at matrimonial life. He was first married to Tyna his long time friend, but the marriage packed up after 17 years without children.
Okotie loved his first wife so much that there was hardly a sermon in which he did not mention Tyna. Long after they separated, he still spoke about her with deep emotions as if they were still wedded.
So much did Okotie talk about Tyna that some of his admirers in the church became jealous. But since he announced that he is set to marry Stephanie, he hardly mentions the name of his first wife publicly these days
Stephanie has since then become his centre of attraction. On one occasion, Okotie invited Stephanie to the altar for a formal introduction. After dancing round her for some minutes to the delight of the congregation, Okotie looked at Stephanie as she was going back to her seat and said in Igbo language, 'Lekwa nwanyi nka marama" meaning 'Look at her, isn`t she beautiful?"
Pastor Chris Okotie, founder of Household of God Church, Oregun, Lagos, is another firebrand preacher that often sends his audience into ecstacies. He is also known for televangelism, and for preaching the end times which he titles The Apocalypsus. In his messages, Okotie reveals his knowledge of the book of Revelations beyond the ordinary.