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Yes, I Overstayed My UK Visa But –Pastor Adegboyega
United Kingdom (UK)-based Nigerian pastor Tobi Adegboyega, has presented another perspective to the issue of overstaying his UK visa and other immigration issues around it.
Adegboyega, who is the founder of the SPAC Nation church, speaking on the BBC on Friday, denied there was a deportation order on him.
He said in 2005, he arrived the UK on a visitor’s visa and actually assumed his family was handling the necessary paperwork, which turned out not to be so.
. “I lost track of time,” he explained, citing a nearly decade-long delay in applying to regularise his immigration status.
Aside allegedly overstaying his UK visa, he also responded to an alleged link with a £1.87 million fraud involving misuse of church funds.
“How on earth do you run an organisation without disgruntled people?”
“Our church has helped get hundreds of knives off the streets and tackled gun violence,” he said, highlighting SPAC Nation’s community outreach efforts.
The charismatic preacher, often seen wearing luxury fashion items, responded to criticism of his lifestyle, stating that his appearance is intentional.
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While the pastor confirmed that the legal battle over his immigration status is ongoing, he insisted the matter is in the hands of the judges.
“There is no deportation order, let me make that clear,” Tobi Adegboyega reiterated, as he continues to fight to remain in the UK.