Former Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has alleged that the Accord Party spent at least N40 billion during the August 15 Osun State governorship election.
Fayose made the claim in a video interview with TVC journalist Nifemi Oguntoye, shared on the journalist’s X account on Wednesday.
His allegation contradicted claims by Afrobeats singer David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, that the All Progressives Congress (APC) spent N110 billion on vote-buying during the election.
Davido, whose uncle, Ademola Adeleke, contested the election on the platform of Accord, had argued that the party did not rely on financial inducements to secure victory but won through the support of Osun voters.
Fayose, however, said both major contenders deployed substantial financial resources during the election.
“Accord Party led the opponents. The money that went to that election from the Accord Party itself cannot be under N40 billion. I stand to be corrected,” he said.
The former governor further alleged that more than N7.5 billion was distributed across local governments and wards shortly before the election.
He claimed some wards received at least N35 million, depending on the number of polling units, but did not provide evidence to substantiate the figures.
Fayose said the election should not be assessed based solely on which party spent more, arguing that both Accord and APC exceeded the legally prescribed spending threshold.
“The fact remains that both parties spent stupendously. They spent beyond the threshold like every other political party,” he said.
Adeleke Wins by 66,252 Votes
Despite his allegations of heavy spending, Fayose acknowledged that financial inducement alone could not explain the outcome of the election.
Adeleke secured 511,067 votes to defeat the APC candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, who polled 444,815 votes, giving the Accord candidate a winning margin of 66,252 votes.
Fayose attributed a significant part of Adeleke’s victory to the political influence of the Adeleke family in Ede, claiming that about 46,000 votes of the winning margin came from the area.
He also rejected the argument that APC’s defeat was solely caused by its choice of candidate, saying the Adeleke family’s established political base contributed to the outcome.
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On the possibility of an APC legal challenge, Fayose said the party should approach the courts if it believed it had sufficient grounds to contest the election.
“I think they should go to court,” he said.
Fayose also claimed that President Bola Tinubu could have influenced the election in favour of the APC if he had chosen to do so.
He described the President’s handling of the election as “magnanimous”, comparing it with his experience during the 2018 Ekiti governorship election.
Fayose, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, also dismissed suggestions that Adeleke’s victory had significantly strengthened the opposition ahead of the 2027 general elections.
According to him, the opposition’s failure to unite remains a major obstacle to its electoral prospects.
“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.
