Leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church Primate Elijah Ayodele said bishops endorsing Tinubu for a second term in 2027 were hungry and were not acting on divine orders.

Primate Elijah Ayodele spoke through a statement signed by his media aide, Osho Oluwatosin.

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He was responding to the Charismatic Bishops Conference of Nigeria, whose President-General, Archbishop Leonard Bature Kawas, endorsed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the group’s 2026 synod in Abuja on Wednesday 9 September 2026.

Archbishop Leonard Bature Kawas said the conference had first worried about the 2023 Muslim-Muslim ticket, then changed its view after appointments that he said balanced religious diversity.

He cited figures such as Secretary to the Government of the Federation George Akume and All Progressives Congress national chairman Nentawe Yilwatda. “President Bola Tinubu came and balanced our diversity so very well. There is no iota of nepotism,” he said. The synod was attended by George Akume and Information Minister Mohammed Idris.

Primate Elijah Ayodele rejected that framing. “Bishops endorsing President Tinubu are hungry and looking for what to eat. They didn’t do that endorsement because they love Tinubu but because they need some things from him,” the statement said. “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.”

He added that the bishops were “lying on God’s name because of food” and that God would not give such a direction.

He grouped some politicians with the clergy, saying they too were acting from self-interest and would turn if they did not get what they wanted.

Primate Elijah Ayodele told President Bola Ahmed Tinubu that endorsements would not deliver a second term without performance. “Endorsements mean nothing; it is only his activities that can either secure or make him lose a second term in office,” the statement said.

The clash is part of a wider 2027 contest in which churches, parties and public figures are already taking sides.

The Charismatic Bishops Conference presents its backing as a review of appointments and security outreach.