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Former Ekiti Governor Ayodele Fayose claims the Accord Party spent at least ₦40 billion to secure victory in the August 15 Osun governorship election.
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Fayose says more than ₦7.5 billion was sent to local governments and wards shortly before the poll, with some wards allegedly receiving about ₦35 million.
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The former governor’s allegations come after Davido accused the APC of spending ₦110 billion on vote-buying while insisting Accord relied on voters rather than inducements.
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He advised the APC to challenge the election result if it has evidence, while arguing that the opposition has lost its best opportunity to unite ahead of 2027.
August 19, (THEWILL) — Former Ekiti State Governor and Chairman of Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Ayodele Fayose, has countered Afrobeats star David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, over allegations of massive vote-buying during the August 15 Osun State governorship election, claiming that the Accord Party, which produced the winner, Ademola Adeleke, spent at least ₦40 billion on the poll.
Fayose also alleged that more than ₦7.5 billion was distributed across local governments and wards shortly before the election, suggesting that the two leading political parties deployed substantial financial resources in the contest.
Fayose made the claims in a video interview with TVC journalist, Nifemi Oguntoye, posted on the journalist’s X handle on Wednesday.
His comments came against the backdrop of Davido’s allegation that the All Progressives Congress (APC) spent as much as ₦110 billion on vote-buying during the election.
Davido, who is the nephew of the incumbent governor and Accord Party candidate, Ademola Adeleke, had argued that his uncle’s party did not engage in vote-buying, insisting that the victory was secured through the support of the people of Osun State.
Fayose, however, rejected the suggestion that either of the two leading parties won or lost the election without substantial spending.
“Accord Party led the opponents. The money that went to that election from the Accord party itself cannot be under ₦40 billion. I stand to be corrected,” he said.
He further alleged that more than ₦7.5 billion was released to various local governments and wards in the days immediately preceding the election.
“Secondly, on Monday, they sent over ₦7.5 billion to the various local governments. Various wards. The minimum for the wards that got the minimum would be about ₦35 million,” Fayose alleged.
He said the distribution covered wards comprising between seven and nine polling units, although he did not provide documentary evidence to substantiate the figures.
Fayose maintained that the issue was not peculiar to either Accord or APC, arguing that both parties spent far beyond the statutory limit for election expenditure.
“The fact remains that both parties spent stupendously. They spent beyond the threshold like every other political party,” he said.
The allegation comes amid renewed concerns over the influence of money in Nigerian elections, particularly the practice of distributing cash and other inducements to voters shortly before or on election day.
Fayose also questioned the timing of alleged financial transfers, linking his concerns to the freezing of some accounts by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the run-up to the election.
“The ₦20 million that went out like a week before the election that prompted the EFCC to freeze their account shows that something is not right. Why don’t you send those to the people six months ago?” he asked.
Adeleke’s Ede Stronghold
While acknowledging the significance of the financial dimension of the election, Fayose argued that the decisive factor was the margin between the two leading candidates and the longstanding political influence of the Adeleke family in Ede.
Ademola Adeleke of Accord polled 511,067 votes to defeat the APC candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, who secured 444,815 votes, giving Adeleke a winning margin of 66,252 votes.
According to Fayose, the Adeleke family’s entrenched political base in Ede accounted for a substantial portion of the difference.
“The Adelekes are rooted in their hometown. Omisore or APC has no presence. So courting an Omisore or giving an Omisore the nomination, what would it change? Nothing.
“Because 66,000 votes differential, 46,000 from Ede alone. You can’t do nothing about it,” he said.
Fayose consequently dismissed arguments that the APC’s choice of candidate alone was responsible for its defeat, insisting that the Adeleke family’s political structure and popularity in Ede played a major role.
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‘APC Should Go To Court’
On whether the APC should challenge the outcome of the election in court, Fayose advised the party to pursue legal redress if it believed it had sufficient grounds.
“I think they should go to court,” he said.
Asked whether there was anything meaningful for the APC to gain from litigation, the former governor said the figures should be subjected to judicial scrutiny where there were grounds for contesting them.
“I believe it was pirated. That’s what I believe,” Fayose said, apparently referring to the votes recorded in Ede.
His comments add another layer to the controversy surrounding the poll, with allegations of financial inducement and disputes over voting patterns likely to feature prominently in the post-election debate.
Fayose also offered a contrasting assessment of President Bola Tinubu’s role in the election, arguing that the President could have deployed his political influence in favour of the APC if he had chosen to do so.
Instead, Fayose described Tinubu as “magnanimous” in his handling of the Osun election, comparing the President’s conduct with his experience during the 2018 Ekiti governorship election.
He rejected suggestions that the Accord victory in Osun had significantly improved the opposition’s prospects ahead of the 2027 general elections.
According to him, the opposition’s inability to form a united political front has already squandered what he regarded as its strongest opportunity to challenge the ruling APC.
“The only thing that can give them hope has passed, which is they are coming together. They have failed to come together, and they cannot retrieve that back. That is certain,” he said.
Felix Ifijeh is a journalist with years of professional reporting experience. Known for his keen news sense, compelling storytelling and commitment to accurate, impactful reporting, he has built a reputation for turning leads into clear, engaging, and well-structured reports that resonate with readers. His work reflects deep newsroom experience and a commitment to accurate, impactful journalism.
