Bayo Adelabu, Nigeria’s Minister of Power under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has filed a petition with the Department of State Services (DSS), accusing Primate Elijah Ayodele of attempting to extort N150 million under the guise of providing “spiritual support” for his 2027 governorship bid in Oyo State.
The minister alleged that the founder of the INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church demanded large sums of money and costly ritual items in exchange for divine intervention. The petition, dated October 13, 2025, and signed by his aide, Bolaji Tunji, claimed that Primate Ayodele turned against him after Adelabu refused to comply with the demands.
According to the petition, the cleric allegedly instructed Adelabu to procure 24 APC flags and 1,000 saxophones or trumpets. Text messages reviewed by TheCable indicated that the items were valued between N50 million for locally made instruments and N130 million for imported Chinese-grade ones. The initial deadline was April 1, later extended to April 4.
Ayodele reportedly told Adelabu that the demands were “instructions from God” and urged him to perform prayers, vigils, and rituals to guarantee electoral success. The minister, citing financial constraints, declined the requests. Following this, Primate Ayodele allegedly declared during a church service that Adelabu would not win the governorship, framing his statements as divine warnings, while inviting the minister to challenge him legally.
The petition describes the encounter as spiritual blackmail intended to influence the political process through financial and ritual pressure. Adelabu has asked the DSS to investigate the cleric and compel him to retract the “false prophecies” and issue an apology.
The petition reads in part:
“I write to formally draw the attention of the Department of State Services to the extortive, deceitful, and inciting activities of one self-acclaimed pastor known as Primate Elijah Ayodele… whose actions have become not only personally distressing to the Honourable Minister of Power… but also capable of disturbing public peace and undermining the integrity of the political process in Oyo State.”
It further alleges that, since his tenure as Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and during his governorship ambition, Adelabu had been approached multiple times with unsolicited “spiritual intercessions” purportedly to guarantee electoral success, amounting to over N150 million cumulatively. The petition claims that after Adelabu refused, Ayodele embarked on a campaign of false and malicious prophecies intended to tarnish the minister’s reputation.
Primate Ayodele, however, denied the allegations in a statement signed by his media aide, Osho Oluwatosin. He claimed that he never demanded money from the minister and that the request for trumpets was intended for Adelabu’s benefit. He explained that Adelabu’s aides and personal assistants had placed him under pressure, while he merely advised that the musical instruments be acquired.
Adelabu, a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and the APC’s 2019 governorship candidate in Oyo State, now seeks to contest the 2027 election under the Accord Party, as Governor Seyi Makinde has reached his two-term limit.
Could this be part of a larger scandal, or an isolated dispute? What’s your view on Primate Ayodele’s alleged demands? Share your opinion in the comment section.
