Pastor Tunde Bakare said the Citadel Global Community Church repaid its ₦4 billion debt to Wema Bank by selling the former Latter Rain Assembly auditorium.
Speaking during a Thanksgiving service to mark the church’s 37th anniversary, Bakare said repayment was completed in March.
The Latter Rain Assembly auditorium on Akilo Road was sold for exactly ₦4 billion to a foreign company, with payment made directly to Wema Bank.
He emphasised that no external entity financed the sale, stressing the transaction’s transparency and integrity.
Bakare explained that the loan, originally taken to finance the construction of the Citadel edifice, was backed by collateral properties and supplemented by loans from four other banks, all of which had been cleared earlier.
He dismissed allegations that the debt was unsecured or that the church was drowning financially, calling such claims “mischief.”
The Citadel building, which houses both the church and the Citadel School of Government, cost about ₦12.1 billion to construct, with half of the funding raised through donations.
Bakare said negotiations are ongoing to settle the interest component of the Wema loan.
He thanked members and allies for their support, saying the edifice’s completion marks closure.
