Bayo Adelabu, minister of power, has accused Primate Elijah Ayodele, founder and head of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Oke Afa, Lagos, of blackmail and attempting to extort N150 million from him for “spiritual intercession” to make him governor of Oyo state.

Adelabu, a former governorship candidate, has declared his intention to contest the 2027 Oyo governorship election.

In a petition dated October 13, 2025, signed by Bolaji Tunji, the minister’s special adviser on strategic communications and media relations, to the director-general of the Department of State Services (DSS), Adelabu accused Ayodele of making false prophecies intended to malign his reputation after he rebuffed all efforts from the cleric, who allegedly demanded a huge sum of money and expensive spiritual items.

’IT’S AN INSTRUCTION FROM GOD’

Primate Ayodele (m) surrounded by trumpeters in his church

In a series of text messages between Ayodele and Adelabu, seen by TheCable, the cleric asked the minister to bring 24 APC flags for prayers. The cleric also demanded 1,000 pieces of saxophones/trumpets, with the least expensive Nigerian fairly-used grade costing a total of N50 million and the imported grade-one from China at N130 million in total.

Ayodele asked Adelabu to bring the items by April 1. He later extended the grace till April 4.

“Sir, I don’t do this, but because of the love I have for you,” the primate wrote.

The cleric told the minister that he had sent him several letters while he was CBN deputy governor and other times to the minister in Ibadan, but there was no reply. He repeatedly made requests to call the minister, who told him he was on pilgrimage. Ayodele asked him to “recite almu nasira 200 times”.

The cleric told the minister that what he was doing was based on instruction given to him by God. Ayodele repeatedly told the minister that he would rule Oyo state.

”I have divine advice for you sir, which can help a lot sir, kindly pick my call,” a part of the text message read.

”Do vigil and the angel of God is coming to hear request by 1am…I don’t want you to lose the coming election. That is why I’m following the instructions.”

In response, the minister told the cleric that he could not afford the expensive items.

After the incident, Ayodele, while speaking in his church, said Adelabu had failed and would not become Oyo governor.

In some video clips seen by TheCable, Ayodele said Adelabu had made mistakes and his message to the minister was a “warning from God”.

The cleric dared the minister to arrest or sue him.

ADELABU: MY POLITICAL AMBITION DRIVEN BY GENUINE SERVICE, NOT BY SPIRITUAL MANIPULATION

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Adelabu has contested for the Oyo governorship seat twice and he is making plans to vie for the position again in 2027

In the petition to the DSS, Adelabu said he rejected Ayodele’s requests because he believes his ambition is driven by genuine service and not by spiritual manipulation or fetish practices.

The minister asked the DSS to investigate Ayodele and compel him to retract his “false prophecies” and apologise.

“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 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.”

The minister also petitioned the Oyo state commissioner of police over the cleric’s “extortive and inciting activities”.

PRIMATE AYODELE: I DIDN’T ATTEMPT TO EXTORT ADELABU

In a phone conversation with TheCable, Ayodele said Adelabu was the one who approached him first. He said Adelabu sent emissaries to him because he was desperate to become Oyo governor.

“I didn’t blackmail him. We didn’t have any transaction. Again, no money was exchanged between us,” the cleric said.

“I discussed some terms with him, which he didn’t agree with. I didn’t make any attempt to extort him. I can sell my services for any amount. I can value it at N1 billion as much as I provide the value he wants. It’s nobody’s business. Why did you come to me in the first place if you didn’t believe in me? What are you doing with someone you claim is dishing out fake prophesies? I’m big. He should say anything he likes.

“I’m not poor. I take care of vulnerable people. I’m blessed in the Lord.”