Primate Elijah Ayodele, Leader of the INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, has dismissed allegations by the Minister of Power, Bayo Adelabu, accusing him of attempting to extort N150 million.
According to a media report, Adelabu petitioned the Department of State Services (DSS), claiming the cleric asked him to purchase about 1,000 trumpets valued at roughly N150 million, adding that his refusal allegedly led to a prophecy predicting he would not become governor of Oyo State.
In a statement signed by his media aide, Osho Oluwatosin, Primate Ayodele denied ever demanding such an amount, insisting he never requested money from the minister apart from the trumpets, which he said were recommended for Adelabu’s spiritual benefit.
He explained that it was Adelabu who initially asked for the cost of the instruments, and he merely provided an estimate while advising the minister to send someone to verify the prices in the market.
Ayodele added that the minister, along with his personal assistant and another intermediary, had mounted pressure on him at the time because of Adelabu’s strong interest in securing the Oyo governorship seat.
According to Ayodele, “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 said trumpet cost, while someone follows them from my end too. His personal assistant, himself, and the person he sent to me put me under so much pressure because he was desperate for governorship.”
Read Also: 2027: Former Oyo APC guber candidate Folarin meets Adelabu in Ibadan
He continued: “He was the one who sent someone to me to talk to me on his behalf. He went as far as saying he was willing to give anything to become the next governor of Oyo State, and the only thing I told him is to get the trumpets for his own good.”
Expanding on their discussions, Primate Ayodele said he told Adelabu that securing the governorship ticket would be difficult, and that purchasing the musical instruments, not necessarily for his church, was advised as an appeal for divine mercy. He noted that Adelabu declined.
“I told him that they won’t want to give him the governorship ticket, but if he wants it so bad, he should seek the mercy of God by buying the musical instruments for God, not even for my church, but he said he can’t do it, that’s all,” he said.
The cleric maintained that he had long warned that Adelabu’s governorship ambition required divine intervention. He insisted his prophecies were never influenced by the minister’s refusal to buy the trumpets.
He said, “I have been talking about how he won’t be made governor of Oyo State for years; this is why he called me to seek solutions. I have never spoken to him before till he sent people to me and personally requested my spiritual help. I don’t make prophecies to make money, I am blessed already, and my subsequent prophecies after our discussion about his ambition aren’t because he failed to buy the musical instrument, it can never be.”
