Alledged Polygamist Priest Who Quits Anglican Church Steers Up Controversy

Alleged Polygamist Priest Who Quits Anglican Church Steers Up Controversy

The circumstances underlying Rev. Ogbuchukwu Lotanna’s claimed resignation from the Diocese of Nnewi (Anglican Communion), Anambra State, are not yet known.

While some claim that his purported departure is based on his views on polygamy and a divine mandate to launch a movement in favor of the practice, others assert that it may also be related to alleged misconduct that he is said to have engaged in and that did not sit well with the populace.

Lotanna, a native of Mbanagu Otolo Nnewi in Nnewi North LGA, was given a divine mandate to launch a movement in favor of polygamy. However, some individuals close to the church have claimed that he may be involved in unreported misconduct that the Diocese disapproves of.

However, attempts to contact the Diocese of Nnewi Anglican authorities were unsuccessful because a priest told Sunday Vanguard that the Rt. Rev. Ndubuisi Obi, Bishop of the Diocese, was the only person who could speak on the subject.

“Nobody can speak on the matter concerning the purported resignation of the priest in our pre-Synod press briefing. The Bishop is reading his Presidential Address and I believe you must be in Ozubulu to take records. So the Bishop, who is the only competent person to speak on the matter, if it is true, is the Bishop, whom I know may not be interested in responding to questions on the issue,” the priest said.

The priest allegedly asserted that the heavenly directive he got to launch a movement was intended to promote polygamy with the goal of lowering the prevalence of sexual vice in society.

He was also alleged to have based his support for polygamy on a desire to eradicate sin, in contrast to the conventional church doctrine, without making any real efforts to eradicate sexual immorality.

According to reports, Lotanna said: “What God hates is a divorce of any kind, sleeping with another man’s wife and sleeping with someone that is not someone’s wife, and young girls.

“God desired men to even marry more than one wife, instead of going for someone else’s wife or ladies they were not married to, what they call side chicks these days”. According to him, the church had hidden this information from members for a long time and it was high time people were the truth.

“Men should be encouraged to marry their side chicks to escape hell fire, the only thing wrong with polygamy was to stay in a church that was against the practice because two cannot work unless they agree.

“This our movement would be called ‘Gideonites’ while the place of worship would be called ‘Gideonites’ Temple”.