Chris Oyakhilome, president and founder of Loveworld Incorporated, better known as Christ Embassy, has reacted to the fire incident at the Oregun, Lagos branch of the church.
Fire razed the white building in Ikeja on Sunday morning.
Thick black smoke was still billowing from the edifice at the time of reporting.
Personnel of the Lagos fire and rescue service were on the scene to put out the fire.
Speaking in one of the church services, Oyakhilome said the inferno presents an opportunity for the church to build a bigger and more befitting edifice.
“Some years ago, I wished I had a better design for the affected place. But then, it would have required that we take off the roof. But now, I’ve got the opportunity to have something better there,” he said.
“When something like this happens, what does God think? God just gives us an opportunity to do something about it. What are we going to do? The house is gone, we clear out the place and build a better one. A more beautiful one. That is what we are going to do.
“Let the devil lick his wounds. We must look at life from the spiritual. This is not what we call an accident. Everything that happens in our lives is all planned.”
The Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service (LSFRS) said the fire has been put under control.
In a statement issued by Margaret Adeseye, director of the service, LSFRS also blamed the church for the spread of the fire.
NAN reports Adeseye as saying that the fire escalated because the church’s fire service thought they could handle the situation without recourse to the Lagos fire service.
She said the cause of the fire will be made public after a proper investigation has been done.
