A call for spiritual renewal, unity and a renewed commitment to evangelism dominated proceedings as leaders and members of the United Church of Christ (UCC) gathered in Enugu for the consecration and inauguration of Apostle John Chimaobi Egbo as the church’s Bishop and General Overseer. The event also served as a platform for church leaders to challenge Christians to uphold integrity, influence society through godly leadership and play a more active role in shaping Nigeria’s democratic future. Gideon Arinze reports
Nearly 28 years after it was publicly declared that he would one day lead the United Church of Christ (UCC), Apostle John Chimaobi Egbo was on Saturday, June 20, 2026, consecrated and inaugurated as the Bishop and General Overseer of the church in a colourful ceremony attended by worshippers, clerics, political leaders and dignitaries from across Nigeria and beyond.
The event, held at the packed Faith Cathedral, Fountain of Peace, Enugu, was presided over by the Presiding Bishop of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM), Bishop Mike Okonkwo, who described the occasion as a transition from the old to the new and a renewed mandate to advance Christ’s mission.
Chimaobi, son of the church’s founder, the late Apostle Samuel Egbo, was only 15 years old when it was declared in September 1998 that he would one day assume the church’s highest leadership position. Twenty-eight years later, that declaration has become a reality.
