Leader of the INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Primate Elijah Ayodele, has dismissed criticisms trailing his comments on Super Eagles winger Ademola Lookman at the ongoing 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, insisting his prophecy has been wrongly interpreted.
Ayodele came under fire after Lookman scored the winning goal in Nigeria’s opening match, with critics accusing the cleric of wrongly predicting the player’s poor performance.
However, the prophet clarified that his remarks were not directed at a single game but the tournament as a whole.
In a statement issued by his media aide, Osho Oluwatosin, Ayodele said his message had been deliberately twisted by what he described as “mischievous individuals” pursuing their own agenda.
According to him, the prophecy was a cautionary message and not a prediction focused on Nigeria’s match against Tanzania.
“My prophecy about Ademola Lookman in the ongoing AFCON tournament is being misrepresented and misunderstood,” Ayodele said. “What I said was not about one match. It was about the entire tournament. One game cannot be used to judge performance at AFCON.”
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He urged Nigerians to exercise patience and allow events to unfold rather than rushing to conclusions based on an early result.
Ayodele also stressed that his warnings were given out of genuine concern for the national team, noting that he desires Nigeria’s success at the tournament.
“I want the Nigerian team to win the cup, and that is why I speak. It would give me great joy to see them lift the trophy, but that can only happen if advice is heeded,” he added.
The Super Eagles remain in contention at AFCON 2025 as the tournament progresses, with attention now shifting to their subsequent group fixtures.