Primate Elijah Ayodele Denies Attempting to Extort Minister Bayo Adelabu
Primate Elijah Ayodele, leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, on Friday denied allegations by Minister of Power Bayo Adelabu that he tried to extort N150 million from him. Adelabu had reportedly petitioned the Department of State Services (DSS), claiming that Ayodele asked him to buy about 1,000 trumpets costing up to N150 million. The minister also alleged that when he refused, Ayodele prophesied that he would not become governor of Oyo State. In a statement released through his media aide, Osho Oluwatosin, Ayodele said he never demanded money from Adelabu. He explained that the request for the trumpets was meant for Adelabu’s spiritual benefit, and that it was the minister who asked about the cost. Ayodele said he only suggested that someone from Adelabu’s team verify the prices at the market. He added that Adelabu, along with his personal assistant and another associate, applied pressure because of his strong ambition to secure the governorship ticket in Oyo State. “I didn’t ask Bayo Adelabu for money. I only told him to send someone to check the price of the trumpets while someone from my side confirms it. He, his assistant, and the person he sent pressured me because of his desperation for the governorship,” Ayodele said. Ayodele said he informed Adelabu that the party would not grant him the governorship ticket but suggested he could seek God’s mercy by buying the musical instruments—not for the church, but for spiritual purposes. Adelabu reportedly refused. “I told him they wouldn’t give him the governorship ticket, but if he wanted it, he could seek God’s mercy by buying the instruments for God, not for my church. He said he couldn’t do it, and that was the end of it,” Ayodele explained. The cleric added that he had long spoken publicly about Adelabu’s ambition and maintained that divine intervention would be necessary for him to become governor. He stressed that his subsequent prophecies were unrelated to the musical instruments. “I have said for years that he won’t become governor. That is why he came to me. I never spoke to him before he sent people to request spiritual help. I do not make prophecies for money, and my statements after our discussion are not because he refused to buy the trumpets,” Ayodele said.
