The Bishop of the Lutheran Church in Liberia, Victor Padmore, is calling for a second audit on his predecessor, Dr. Jensen Seyenkolo.
Accordingly, the audit will focus on the institution’s financial status but Padmore’s call seems to be meeting resistance due to what the members term constitutional breach.
On Sunday, July 3, 2022, Lutherans witnessed the consecration of Padmore as their new bishop ending the 10-year reign of Seyenkolo who served the church from 2010- 2022 but with nearly 80 days in charge of the church affairs, Padmore wants verification of the church’s assets and audits all of the financial records of his predecessor Seyenkolo.
He announced this when appeared on an online radio talk show referred to as “Lutheran Connection” confirming that he will constitute a committee to verify the church’s assets and to audit all financial records recently in Monrovia.
Padmore who has also formally communicated on Friday, August 19, 2022, to Cllr. Sandra Howard, a member of the church, a letter which was seen by this paper, stating that the records to be sorted out as well as those to be audited include financial statements of the church for the last five years, among others.
However, Padmore’s request for a second audit on Seyenkolo seems not to have gone well with some of his fellow Lutherans to include the former Secretary General of the church, Naomi Ford Wilson.
In what was termed as a strong worded response, Madam Wilson sharpely stated among many things that all records of the church during the tenure of Seyenkolo are within the reach of Padmore and his team.
Cllr Wilson indicated that two months period are allowed for transition before the consecration and reminded that Padmore and his team including Thomas Jallah, the present Secretary of the Lutheran Church in Liberia and Lewis McCay, all participated in all meetings of present and that it has gone 80 days.
She did not brand Padmore’s request made on social media as “witch-hunt” though many other Lutherans believe that the immediate past bishop and his officials are being “witch-hunted.”
Another staunch Lutheran, Emmanuel Flomo, stated that the worst mistake he ever made in his lifetime was for him and his family to cast their votes for Padmore.
“If Padmore had the opportunity to dig out the late Bishop Sumowu Harris from his grave he would have done so on Sunday, July 3, 2022, immediately upon his consecration,” he alleged.
Emmanuel cited that what shocked him most recently about the bishop’s behavior was that, “A church member who spent more than four months out of the country seeking medication, returned home and visited the church compound but to his utmost surprise, Padmore asked that brother, Henry Kopper what he was doing on the Church compound?”
According to Flomo, the only basis for that unfortunate question to Kopper is because he (Kopper) had been a supporter of the late Bishop Harris.
He said if the Lutheran Church present leadership wants to run the church on social media platforms, they will help them to do so but if he (Padmore) respects them and consults with those who knows better, it will be good for him.
These members believe that the Executive Council is the highest decision-making body of the Lutheran church in Liberia in the absence of national convention because the membership of the convention comprises of all pastors and bishops of the church.
“The present Executive Council consist of all those who have been members of the council except Naomi Ford-Wilson and Daniel Seyenkolo,” one of the members noted.
According to the lawyer who seems to be familiar with the happenings inside the Lutheran Church, it is clear that the Convention is the highest decision making body of the Lutheran Church in Liberia and not few people or single individual.
The lawyer said the Convention having voted and endorsed all reports in April 2022, he does not see how the Bishop along with Pastors McCay and Jallah would make a vein effort to overturn same.
“The alleged unilateral decision by the Bishop to conduct an all financial statement and audited financial statements that have been approved by the convention is a usurpation of the function of the Executive Council that supervises the work of the Church administration in the absence of the Convention,” the lawyer noted.
He believe it is untenable for the Bishop to overturn decisions that have been approved or taken by the Convention stating that it must be said with definiteness that it is a violation of the LCL constitution by any individual regardless of position or rank and warrants automatic expulsion.
