The late founder of the Synagogue of All Nations, Pastor Temitope Joshua, may be buried in his church in Lagos state on July 9, 2021. Joshua died in Lagos state last week at the age of 57.
On Sunday, a family member who asked not to be named stated that TB Joshua’s immediate family and extended members had set the date after meeting at the deceased’s residence in Lagos state on Friday. The family’s decision goes against the expectations of the Arigidi Akoko monarch,Oba Yisa Olanipekun, and other traditional rulers of the Akoko region, who want the late preacher to be buried in his hometown, Arigidi Akoko.
Traditional rulers believed that if the deceased clergy were brought home for burial, the global visibility of the city would be further improved, because worshipers of the dead from all over the world wanted to visit the grave, and it would also make the city a focal point in the world when the church continues the project that the late founder had already started. But the relative said that at the meeting, his wife Evelyn and the deceased clergyman’s children outnumbered other family members opinion in terms of the location and date of the funeral.
The source said the burial arrangement would take place between July 5 and July 9, 2021
He said, “The extended family members, his (Joshua) wife and children held a meeting on Friday and it was decided that he should be buried in Lagos and the burial programme will be between July 5 and 9.
“It was on the insistence of the wife and the children that the other family members agree on the place of burial because they said they saw revelations that he should be buried in Lagos. Since they said it was spiritual, the family agreed with them.”
However, one of the community leaders in Akokoland, Chief Ladi Bello, said since the decision had been taken on the burial arrangement of the deceased, the ongoing project left behind in Arigidi Akoko by the late pastor should not be abandoned.