Primate Ayodele denies attempt to extort Bayo Adelabu, says minister desperately looked for him

Michael Adeshina

The Leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Primate Elijah Ayodele, has denied allegations made against him by the Minister of Power, Bayo Adelabu, regarding an alleged attempt to extort N150 million from him.

According to The Cable, Adelabu petitioned the DSS, accusing Primate Ayodele of asking him to purchase about 1,000 trumpets, which he claimed would cost up to N150 million.

The minister alleged that his refusal to comply prompted the prophet to prophesy that he would not become governor of the state.

He further requested that the DSS investigate Ayodele and compel him to retract his “false prophecies” and issue an apology.

“I write to formally draw the attention of the Department of State Services (DSS) to the extortive, deceitful, and inciting activities of one self-acclaimed pastor known as Primate Elijah Ayodele of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, whose actions have become not only personally distressing to the Honourable Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, but also capable of disturbing public peace and undermining the integrity of the political process in Oyo State,” the petition reads.

“Since his tenure as the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and particularly during the period leading up to his current aspiration to serve as Governor of Oyo State, this individual has persistently approached him with unsolicited offers of ‘spiritual intercession’ purportedly to guarantee electoral success.

“Under this guise, he has on several occasions demanded huge sums of money and expensive spiritual items, cumulatively amounting to over N150 million (one hundred and fifty million naira), as purported prerequisites for divine favour. The minister had consistently declined these requests, believing that his political ambition is driven by genuine service to the people and not by spiritual manipulation or fetish practices.

“Following the Honourable Minister’s refusal to accede to his extortionate demands, Primate Ayodele embarked on a campaign of malicious and false prophecies targeted at discrediting him publicly. He has gone as far as declaring through various media channels that ‘God told him he will not win the election’ and has recently made more provocative and inciting statements suggesting that he would fail because of his association with the ‘Èmi Lòkan’ slogan (‘It’s my turn’).

“As a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, he had previously chosen to ignore these antics to avoid unnecessary public confrontation with a religious figure. However, Primate Ayodele’s continued propagation of these false prophecies, which are evidently retaliatory and malicious in nature, now poses a threat not only to the minister’s reputation but also to public order and confidence in the democratic process.

“I therefore urge the Department of State Services to kindly investigate the activities of the said Pastor Ayodele for extortion, blackmail, and the deliberate dissemination of false and inciting information; compel him to retract his false prophecies and issue a formal written apology; and bring him under the force of the law, in accordance with relevant provisions of the Nigerian Constitution and Criminal Code, to deter similar fraudulent religious practices in the future.”

The minister also petitioned the Oyo State Commissioner of Police over the cleric’s “extortive and inciting activities.”

However, in a statement sent to PM News by his media aide, Osho Oluwatosin, Primate Ayodele denied ever attempting to extort the minister of the said amount.

The cleric explained that he never asked the minister to send him money apart from purchasing the trumpets, which he said were for the minister’s good.

He stated that Adelabu himself asked for the cost, and he provided an estimate, while advising him to send someone from his end to the market to confirm the prices of the instruments.

Ayodele added that apart from Adelabu, two other persons, including the minister’s personal assistant, pressured him because Adelabu appeared desperate for the Oyo governorship seat.

“I didn’t ask Bayo Adelabu to bring money for prayers. I told him to ask someone from his end to go to the market and find out how much the trumpets cost, while someone from my end accompanies them. His personal assistant, himself, and the person he sent to me put me under so much pressure because he was desperate for the governorship.”

“He was the one who sent someone to speak with me on his behalf. He even said he was willing to give anything to become the next governor of Oyo State, and the only thing I told him was to get the trumpets for his own good.”

Speaking further on their discussion, Primate Ayodele explained that he told Adelabu that he might not be given the governorship ticket, but he could seek God’s mercy by buying the musical instruments—not necessarily for his church—which Adelabu refused. Beyond that, he said there was no further discussion.

“I told him they wouldn’t want to give him the governorship ticket, but if he wanted it so badly, he should seek God’s mercy by buying the musical instruments for God, not even for my church. But he said he couldn’t do it. That’s all.”

Primate Ayodele added that he had been speaking about Adelabu’s political ambition for years and had consistently maintained that it would take the grace of God for him to become governor of Oyo State. Therefore, he said his prophecies could not have been motivated by the minister’s refusal to purchase the instruments, as he had never spoken to Adelabu until the minister’s associates contacted him.

“I have been saying for years that he would not be made governor of Oyo State; this is why he called me to seek solutions. I had never spoken to him before he sent people to me and personally sought my spiritual help. I don’t give prophecies to make money—I am already blessed. My subsequent prophecies after our discussion about his ambition were not because he refused to buy the musical instrument. It can never be.”