The Celestial Church of Christ (CCC) worldwide on Saturday, November 27, held a special one-year remembrance celebration of a lasting legacy in honour of the late Josiah Owodunni, the Pastor of CCC Worldwide.
Toyon Akapo, the Church Secretary, in a statement said that the remembrance service and lecture was in honour of the late Owodunni, who died on Nov. 27, 2020 at the age of 86. According to him, the late Owodunni singlehandedly built and financed CCC, Oluwaseyi branch, Ijeshatedo, Lagos.
Akapo urged Celestial faithful to honour the late Owodunni because he was chosen as the next leader of the Church by the founder, late Samuel Oshoffa and described the deceased as a steadfast and faithful Christian who fought many battles on the side of truth and on the side of the Lord to remain as leader in the Church.
According to the CCC Church secretary, Owodunni was born in Ijebu Odogbolu to Adegoke Owodunni, an Anglican goldsmith and Jemilat, a Moslem fish merchant. He disclosed that the deceased attended St. Paul’s School, Ijebu Odogbolu, and later gained admission to CMS Grammar School, Bariga, Lagos. He worked with Barclays Bank before travelling to Scotland.
“In 1957, Owodunni secured a scholarship to study accountancy in Glasgow. He was articled with Stewart, McNair and Co. and in 1962, became the first Nigerian to qualify as Chartered Accountant of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland. On March 31, 1962, he married Mabel Owodunni, who also trained as a registered Nurse in Scotland. They were married for 45-years before she died in 2007,” Akapo said.
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Speaking further on the deceased, Akapo said that later in 1962, Owodunni returned to work with British Petroleum (BP) in Lagos, focusing on the downstream and marketing where he rose to become the acting Managing Director. “In 1978, he resigned from BP to form an accountancy firm in partnership with another accountant and later as a sole proprietorship, Kayode Owodunni and Company. He later retired from the profession in 2005,” he said.
Akapo disclosed further that Owodunni was introduced to the Celestial Church in 1971by a friend whose spouse recovered from debilitating illness and they left the Anglican Church to join the CCC in Makoko. “After joining the church, Owodunni and his friends held Sunday services which grew in number and in 1973, he financed and built the Celestial Church in Ijeshatedo. The founder, Oshoffa christened the parish “Oluwaseyi”.
According to Akapo, Oluwaseyi was the first Celestial Church parish to be christened and subsequently led to other parishes, while Owodunni was one of the seven parochial committee members who sat with the Reverend founder to prepare a written constitution for the Church.
The church scribe noted that in accordance with the constitution, Oshoffa duly chose Owodunni as his successor before he died in 1985. However, in spite of rebellion in the church, the deceased remained strong, steadfast and dedicated to the service of God in the CCC until his final day.
