Tensions have escalated between Primate Elijah Ayodele, founder of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Oke Afa, Lagos, and Bayo Adelabu, Minister of Power, over allegations that the cleric sought N150 million from the minister for spiritual intercession to secure the Oyo State governorship.

The dispute emerged after Adelabu, a former gubernatorial candidate, petitioned the Department of State Services (DSS), claiming Ayodele attempted to extort him and made false prophecies to damage his reputation. In a letter dated October 13, 2025, Adelabu, through his media aide Bolaji Tunji, urged the DSS to investigate Ayodele’s actions, compel a retraction of his alleged “false prophecies”, and issue a formal apology. Adelabu said his political ambition is driven by service, not spiritual manipulation.

According to the petition, Ayodele asked the minister to provide 24 APC flags and 1,000 saxophones or trumpets for prayers, with the least expensive Nigerian-grade instruments costing N50 million and imported grade-one instruments from China priced at N130 million. Adelabu declined, citing the prohibitive cost, prompting Ayodele to issue warnings that the minister would not succeed in his political ambitions.

The petition read, “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.

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

“Under this guise, he had 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 his requests, believing that his political ambition is driven by genuine service to the people and not by any spiritual manipulation or fetish practice.

“Following the Honourable Minister’s refusal to accede to his extortionate demands, Primate Ayodele has 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 his 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 pose 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 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.”

In response, Primate Ayodele, speaking during a service at his church on Sunday, denied attempting to extort the minister. He described Adelabu as “a small boy” who “doesn’t understand what he is saying” and dismissed the N150 million figure. “The shoe I wear, can N150 million buy it?” he asked congregants, adding that he had never requested money directly from the minister.

Ayodele said Adelabu had approached him in desperation to secure the governorship ticket and that any advice he provided was based on instructions he claimed came from God.

“I didn’t blackmail him. We didn’t have any transaction. Again, no money was exchanged between us,” Ayodele said in a phone interview, according to The Cable. “I discussed some terms with him, which he didn’t agree with. I can sell my services for any amount, N1 billion if necessary, as long as I provide value. He should say anything he likes. I’m blessed in the Lord.”

Adelabu, who has twice contested the Oyo governorship—losing first in 2019 to incumbent Seyi Makinde and again in 2023 after switching to the Accord Party—has confirmed plans to contest the 2027 election.

He declared, “In 2027, God has shown that it’s my turn. Emi lokan o, Adelabu lo kan. What’s mine belongs to all of us. I’m telling you there’s a lot of hard work ahead. All party members have to be involved; one person cannot do it.”

The minister returned to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2023, emphasising that his move was not motivated by personal ambition but by loyalty to the party that brought President Bola Tinubu to power.

He rejected Ayodele’s alleged demands, asserting that his political aspirations are grounded in service rather than “fetish practices or spiritual manipulation.”

The DSS and Oyo State Police have yet to comment on whether they will investigate the matter. (Sunday Guardian)

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