By WALE LAWAL
Not long ago, one of Nigeria’s most fearless and vocal men of God, Primate Elijah Ayodele, leader of the INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, made headlines as he spoke his mind like he always does. The highly respected and popular man of prophet criticized a group of bishops who publicly endorsed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for a second term in 2027. Ayodele claimed that the endorsing clerics were acting out of personal interest and "hunger" rather than divine instructions. And clearly, the globally renowned cleric was not just sounding off, he was speaking with a palpable sense of responsibility. Hear him:
“They just want to secure their next meal, and that is why
they are singing the praises of the president. The president must exercise
caution before expressing joy over the endorsement because it is totally fake.”
Ayodele also rejected
claims that the endorsements were based on divine direction, accusing the
bishops of invoking God’s name for personal gain.
“They are not doing it based on divine orders or God’s direction; there is no way God would give such direction. They are only lying on God’s name because of food; it’s such a bad thing that these Bishops reduced the name of God to this level,” he said.
As it is with most of his public statements,
Primate Ayodele’s remarks gained traction and got to the hearing of the
Bishops. Responding to the "hungry bishops" remark during a
media appearance, the bishop (identified in reports as Archbishop/Bishop
Chianson) pushed back against the claim. He stated: "Primate Ayodele, I
need to inform you that I own diamond and gold mines in Liberia, and you can
check this. So there's no way, there's no hunger in this."
The clerics maintained that their endorsement of President Tinubu was based on their own assessments, scorecards, and leadership evaluations for the country, rather than a quest for financial favors. But Primate Ayodele neither believes him nor agrees with his defense.
In a private telephone conversation with the Prime Citizens Publisher, Primate Ayodele re-emphasised his earlier remarks and position on the matter. “First and foremost, I still maintain my earlier stand, the Bishops’ endorsement of Tinubu has no spiritual backing, they went to endorse the President on their own and for selfish reasons. And I have no apologies for saying this,” he stated with conviction.
“I am not going to dignify them with any response, we are not mates,” he further added. “What I have accomplished spiritually, they will still need a very long period of time to achieve. I am not a career Bishop like many of them are, I am not desperate for money like them or looking for handouts from the government. God has blessed me more than enough and he is still blessing me.”
“They are like juniors to me, I will not engage in war of words with them, rather we will call them into a room and speak sense to them. We will lecture them on how to get involved in matters of national interest. There is still a lot they need to learn about how to deal with politicians.”
If there is one prophet presently in Nigeria that has established himself clearly as an oracle, one that foretells accurately what the future holds for different prominent individuals and the country at large, that prophet is no other than Primate Ayodele Elijah, the founder and leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual church. Over the years, he has distinguished himself as different from the rest of the crowd. He is a different breed of prophet. What stands him out distinctly is his ability to hear from the Lord and make prophecies long before they happen. This is why he has earned the right to declare that the endorsement of President Tinubu for a second term has no spiritual backing whatsoever.
Primate Ayodele has been a consistent critique of The President Tinubu administration. Whenever they are doing well in terms of their policies and reforms, he tells them so and when they are not meeting the expectations of the people, he also lets them know. He has no grudge to bear with President Tinubu unlike what many think, what he has a problem with is clerics lining up to Aso rock to collect handouts using the name of God.
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