Enoch Adeboye, general overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), says Nigeria’s forex rate would have spiralled out of control but for divine intervention.

The naira currently exchanges for N1,730 to a dollar.

Speaking at the Special Holy Ghost Congress in Abuja, Adeboye said his prayers, alongside those of “his people”, mitigated a free fall of the naira. 

The cleric linked the currency’s depreciation to Nigeria’s over-reliance on fuel imports despite being an oil producing nation.

He criticised monies spent on “non-functional refineries”, describing them as a strain on federal coffers and a drain on the economy.

“When you quote me, quote me accurately. We need help — divine help — not human help. If we want restoration, we must first admit something is missing,” Adeboye said.

“Before our president came in, everybody knew that the reason we were having financial problems is the fact that a lot of money was being spent to import petrol.

“How can we be importing petrol when we have this resource in abundance here?

“We spent billions of naira on our refineries, and yet they didn’t work. So, we had to keep on importing fuel,” he added.

Adeboye said the removal of subsidies initially inspired hope but provoked backlash from those profiting from the status quo.

He alleged that the cabal struck back by creating instability — a scenario that worsened the country’s economic woes and accelerated the naira’s depreciation.

“They created problems, and suddenly, the naira began to decline rapidly,” Adeboye added.

“I called on my people to pray, and many joined in. Because the way the naira was declining, if God had not intervened, by now, $1 would be about N10,000.

“But God stepped in, showing us that we need prayers.”

Nigeria has been grappling with its worst economic crisis in decades since Tinubu ended the petrol subsidy regime and floated the nation’s currency in his first weeks on the saddle.

In August, Nigerians took to the streets to protest against hunger and ballooning inflation.