Why I stopped employing female secretaries

The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has explained why he no longer employs female secretaries.

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The 83-year-old cleric made the revelation during his sermon titled “Jonah Must Go” on day two of the Holy Ghost Congress 2025, held at the Redemption Camp along the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway.

The sermon video was posted on the church’s YouTube page on Tuesday.

Mr Adeboye recounted that he once had a female secretary who worked with him at Ebute Metta in Lagos State, but he dismissed her upon arriving at the camp.

He said he decided because he wanted the “Jonah” in his life to depart.

Mr Adeboye said: “From the moment I got to this campground, from the moment I got to a stage where at night I still have to walk. I ceased to have a female secretary. Some people think it is gender discrimination. I know myself. I know who I was before Jesus saved my soul.

I see the possibility of being left alone at night with the opposite sex. Oh, but if you are to get a secretary like the last one I had, she was a wonderful child of God.

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“She was my secretary at Ebute Metta. Wonderful lady. True child of the living God. And when I arrived, I knew I would still be in the office at 3 a.m. And I could imagine, after a long day’s work, everybody finally sees the last visitor. And then my secretary comes at 2 a.m.

We are through now, sir. Is there any way I can help you? Like, you know, a cup of tea to relax? Jonah must go.”

Examples

Additionally, the clergyman shared two examples involving pastors within the church whom he advised to dismiss their secretaries because they were women.

According to him, one pastor followed his counsel and went on to become a great man of God, while the other disregarded the advice and eventually strayed from the Lord’s ways.

“There is one of my sons here. A great man of God. When he started, his ministry was tiny. He came to me from the north. He said, ‘Daddy, I have a problem. I said, What’s your problem? He said, I always feel excited when it is Monday. What’s the problem with that? He said, because I’ll be going to the office on Monday. I said, Yeah, what’s the problem? He said, The reason I feel excited about going to the office on Monday is that I want to see my secretary again.

“He said, ‘What should I do? What’s wrong? What prayer?’ I said, prayer. As soon as you get home, sack her. Pay whatever you have to pay. He said, ‘Yes, sir.’ He got back to the office the following Monday. And told the girl, ‘Thank you very much. We’ll pay you this much for notice. But you, you cease to be my secretary from today.’ She erupted. Not that I blame her.

I know where you are coming from. You’ve gone to visit that stupid man you call your father. My son says, call him stupid. Just go. Today he is a great man of God. Why? Because Jonah had gone,” he said.

Mr Adeboye explained that the second pastor, who had been leading one of the RCCG churches in the United States, was relieved of his duties because he failed to heed his advice.

More instances

He added that the pastor subsequently went on to marry the secretary and established a church of his own.

The clergyman noted, “I had another son, who was pastoring one of our big churches in America. And I had some things. So I brought him here. I told him, sack that secretary.

He said, you’re joking, sir. We’re not talking about Nigeria. We’re talking about America. I said, is that so? Sack her. He said, no way. Well, at the end of the day, we had to relieve him. The husband of the secretary was cross with me.

“Took a harsh decision. Only for him to discover. I think four out of the five children, the woman, had belonged to a former pastor. And it didn’t end there. It wasn’t long before the lady chased the pastor out. And became the owner of the pastor. God has mercy on pastors. Anything that can truncate your destiny.”

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Mr Adeboye urged the congregation, and Christians more broadly, to let go of friendships that do not draw them closer to God.

He explained that by ending an unhealthy relationships, an individual may, in fact, be helping the other person as well.

“When you look at the parable of Jonah. You may begin to say, if I cut off this relationship. If I throw Jonah into the ocean. Leave the rest to God. The God of all flesh. Until they threw Jonah into the sea. He wasn’t going to where God wanted him to go. Leave the rest to the God of all flesh.”