The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Enoch Adeboye, has claimed that Nigeria’s currency crisis could have worsened drastically without divine intervention.
He warned that, had it not been for the collective prayers of himself and his followers, the naira could have plummeted to N10,000 to the dollar.
In a speech at the Special Holy Ghost Congress in Abuja, Adeboye expressed deep concern over the state of the Nigerian economy and the currency’s depreciation.
As of now, the naira exchanges for N1,730 to the US dollar, a significant drop from past values.
Adeboye attributed the currency’s struggles to Nigeria’s dependency on fuel imports despite being an oil-producing nation.
He criticised the country’s failure to develop functional refineries and condemned the massive financial losses incurred from the ongoing importation of fuel.
“When you quote me, quote me accurately,” Adeboye said.
“We need divine help, not human solutions. If we want our country restored, we must first acknowledge that something crucial is missing.”
He went on to discuss the financial strain caused by the continued importation of fuel, despite Nigeria’s vast oil resources.
Adeboye noted the billions of naira spent on the country’s refineries, which still remain non-functional, forcing Nigeria to depend on imported fuel.
“How can we be importing fuel when we have so much oil right here?” he asked. “We’ve spent billions on refineries, yet they remain broken. It’s a huge financial burden.”
The cleric also reflected on the impact of the petrol subsidy removal, which initially raised hopes of economic reform but sparked fierce resistance from powerful interest groups.
According to Adeboye, this resistance created economic instability, further exacerbating the naira’s decline.
He added, “They created problems to protect their interests, and suddenly, the naira started to fall rapidly. If we hadn’t prayed, the naira would have reached N10,000 to the dollar by now. But God intervened.”
Adeboye’s remarks come at a time when Nigeria is facing its worst economic crisis in decades, exacerbated by President Bola Tinubu’s decision to end the fuel subsidy and float the naira.
These measures led to widespread protests in August over rising inflation and food insecurity.
