A fresh political storm has erupted over the cost of the Osun governorship election, with former Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose claiming the victorious Accord Party spent at least N40 billion during the poll.
Fayose made the explosive allegation while speaking in a video interview with TVC journalist Nifemi Oguntoye, shared on the journalist’s X handle on Wednesday.
His comments came after Afrobeats superstar David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of allegedly spending N110 billion on vote-buying during the August 15 election.
Davido, who is the nephew of Osun Governor and Accord Party candidate Ademola Adeleke, had insisted that his uncle’s party did not rely on money to win, but rode on the support of the people.
But Fayose disagreed, arguing that both major contenders in the election deployed huge financial resources and that neither side could claim victory was achieved purely through prayers or grassroots support.
“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,” Fayose said.
The former governor further alleged that billions of naira were moved to local government areas and wards shortly before the election, claiming that over N7.5 billion was distributed days before voters went to the polls.
“Secondly, on Monday, they sent over N7.5 billion to the various local governments. Various wards. The minimum for the wards that got the minimum would be about N35 million,” he said.
However, Fayose did not provide documents or evidence to support the figures he mentioned.
He maintained that both Accord Party and APC exceeded the legal spending limit for elections, saying the level of spending witnessed in Osun was beyond what political parties were permitted to spend.
“The fact remains that both parties spent stupendously. They spent beyond the threshold like every other political party,” he said.
Fayose also questioned why alleged financial disbursements were made shortly before the election, linking the development to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s decision to freeze some accounts connected to the Osun government.
“The N20 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.
Despite his claims of massive spending, Fayose argued that the election outcome was largely determined by the voting pattern in key areas, especially Ede, the hometown of the Adeleke family.
The Accord Party candidate, Ademola Adeleke, defeated APC’s Bola Oyebamiji after polling 511,067 votes against Oyebamiji’s 444,815 votes, creating a margin of 66,252 votes.
Fayose said a large chunk of that difference came from Ede, where he described the Adeleke family as deeply rooted politically.
“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.
He dismissed the argument that APC’s defeat was caused only by its choice of candidate, insisting that the Adeleke family’s political influence played a major role.
On whether APC should challenge the election result in court, Fayose said the party should consider legal action.
“I think they should go to court,” he said.
When asked if there was anything to gain from a legal challenge, Fayose said any questionable figures should be contested.
“I believe it was pirated. That’s what I believe,” he said, referring to the votes recorded in Ede.
Fayose also claimed President Bola Tinubu could have influenced the election outcome in favour of APC if he wanted to but chose not to interfere.
He described Tinubu’s handling of the election as “magnanimous”, comparing it with his experience during the 2018 Ekiti governorship election.
The PDP chieftain, however, rejected suggestions that the Osun result had strengthened the opposition’s chances ahead of the 2027 general elections.
According to him, opposition parties missed their biggest opportunity by failing to unite.
“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,” Fayose said.
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