… say former UCOR Chaplain’s ministry left the Church “fragmented, rancorous and unspiritual”
The lingering crisis at the University of Calabar Chapel of Redemption (UCOR) has taken a dramatic turn following a series of decisions by the national leadership of the Assemblies of God Nigeria (AGN) which culminated in the suspension of Rev. Joseph Ushie as a member and his dismissal as a pastor from the ministry.
Documents from the General Council of the Assemblies of God Nigeria show that the development followed months of administrative and disciplinary actions concerning Rev. Ushie’s continued service at the Unical Chapel.
This is after the Church leadership received a petition from members of Unical Chapel of Redemption over arrant violation of the Church constitution against Rev. Joseph Ushie.
The first indication of the displeasure of the General Council came in a letter dated October 14, 2025, wherein the Assemblies of God national leadership advised Rev. Ushie to desist from seeking a further term in office, since his first tenure was marred by rancour, division and infighting, which made the spiritual atmosphere very toxic.
The letter of January 20, 2026, was the second letter. It was addressed to the Calabar District Presbytery and titled “Re: Unical Redemption Chapel: Posting of the Rev. Joseph Ushie.”
In the letter, the General Secretary of the Assemblies of God Nigeria, Rev. Godwin Amaowoh, PhD, FNBR conveyed a directive from the Board of Administration of the denomination.
The Board, according to the letter, had met on January 20 and directed that following the expiration of Rev. Ushie’s tenure on January 31, 2026, he should be immediately posted to any place of ministry of the Assemblies of God Nigeria within the District.
The communication, which was copied to Rev. Ushie and other key stakeholders, including the Vice Chancellor of the University of Calabar, the Board of Trustees and Council of UCOR, established the national church’s position that Rev. Ushie’s tenure at the Chapel had come to an end.
The matter, however, did not end with the posting directive as Rev. Ushie refused to yield to the directives.
In a subsequent letter dated May 27, 2026, the General Council returned to the UCOR matter and directed Rev. Ushie to withdraw his services from the Chapel with immediate effect.
The letter, titled “Withdrawal of Services from UNICAL Chapel of Redemption,” referenced earlier communications dated October 14, 2025, and January 20, 2026, and stated that the Executive Committee had, after receiving a Certified True Copy of the judgment of the Industrial Court, re-iterated its earlier decision that Rev. Ushie withdraw his services from UCOR.
The General Council did not merely restate the withdrawal order. It warned that Rev. Ushie would face “serious disciplinary action” for any act of disobedience.
In a particularly strong assessment of the situation, the Executive Committee expressed regret that Rev. Ushie’s ministry at the University of Calabar Chapel of Redemption had left the Church of Christ in the University “fragmented, rancorous and unspiritual.”
The committee further stated that the situation had given the court an unnecessary opportunity to intervene, thereby bringing “reproach to the name of our Holy God.”
The national leadership also apologized to the leadership and congregation of the Chapel for the shortcomings it said were witnessed during Rev. Ushie’s tenure as Chaplain, while appealing that the developments should not be seen as the trademark of the Assemblies of God Nigeria, which it described as “the mother of Pentecostalism in our nation.”
With the withdrawal directive already issued, the dispute subsequently moved into the disciplinary phase.
In a June 13, 2026 notice titled “Notice of Disciplinary Action,” the General Council informed Rev. Ushie that the Executive Committee had decided to suspend him as a member and dismiss him as a pastor from the ministry of the Assemblies of God Nigeria, effective from that date.
The disciplinary notice directly connected the decision to the earlier directive, stating that the Executive Committee had taken the action based on the consequences of failure to comply with its instruction.
The church however, invoked Article XVIII, No. 14 of the Constitution of the General Council, Assemblies of God Nigeria (2021 as amended), which provides grounds for discipline where there is “rejecting, refusing, neglecting or failure to comply with the directives of the Executive Committee (EC), District Presbytery, Area or Missionary Area Counselling Committee.”
The action therefore transformed what had begun as a dispute over the continuation of Rev. Ushie’s service at UCOR into a formal disciplinary matter resulting in his removal from the Assemblies of God ministry.
The Calabar District Presbytery was subsequently directed to take note of the decision and remove Rev. Ushie’s name from the ministerial list of the District.
Copies of the disciplinary notice were also sent to several stakeholders, including the Executive Officers, Calabar District Presbytery, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Calabar, the Board of Trustees and the congregation of the University of Calabar Chapel of Redemption.
The sequence contained in the three official communications therefore presents a progression: an initial decision to repost Rev. Ushie after the expiration of his tenure, a subsequent directive requiring him to withdraw from UCOR, and finally disciplinary action following what the national church leadership described as failure to comply with its directive.
The documents also show that the matter had become intertwined with litigation, with the May 27 communication specifically referring to the Certified True Copy of an Industrial Court judgment as part of the basis for the Executive Committee’s reaffirmation of its withdrawal decision.
The action by the Assemblies of God Nigeria represents a significant development in the prolonged UCOR crisis and underscores the extent to which the dispute had escalated within the church’s leadership structure.
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