The Minister of Power, Mr Bayo Adelabu, has accused the leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Primate Elijah Ayodele, of extortion.
In a petition to the Department for State Services (DSS), the Minister claimed the cleric attempted to extort him of N150 million for spiritual assistance.
It was reported that after Mr Adelabu, who intends to become the Governor of Oyo State after the tenure of the incumbent, Mr Seyi Makinde, in 2027, refused to provide funds for the purchase of music instruments the prophet told him to purchase to seek the mercy of God on him ambition because of the cost, the cleric began to make negative prophesies about him.
This, according to a report by TheCable, prompted the Minister to report the matter to the DSS.
But in a statement on Friday by his media aide, Mr Osho Oluwatosin, the man of God refuted the allegations, saying he never attempted to extort Mr Adelabu as being alleged.
Mr Ayodele explained that the Minister himself asked for the cost, and he gave him a figure, while asking him to send someone from his end to the market in order to confirm the prices of the instrument, trumpet.
He stated that aside from Mr Adelabu, two other persons, including his personal assistant, were putting pressure him because the Minister was showing serious desperation for the seat of a governor in Oyo State.
“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 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.”
“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,” the prophet narrated.
Speaking further on their discussion, Primate Ayodele explained that he told Mr Adelabu that they won’t be willing to give him the governorship ticket but he can seek the mercy of God by buying the musical instrument, not necessarily for his church, which he refused, and beyond that, there was no other discussion.
“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 disclosed further.
The Lagos-based cleric stated that for years, he had been talking about the ambition of Mr Adelabu and has maintained that it would take the grace of God for him to become the governor of Oyo State. Therefore, it couldn’t have been because the Minister refused to yield, because he had never spoken to him till he sent people to him.
“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,” he noted.