Afrobeats star David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, has revealed that he came under pressure from influential Nigerians to remove his social media posts during the recently concluded Osun State governorship election.
Davido said Senate President Godswill Akpabio and businessman Aliko Dangote were among those who contacted him as he published updates about developments surrounding the poll.
The singer made the disclosure on Tuesday during an interview with News Central TV, where he spoke about his involvement in monitoring the election and the events that unfolded as results were being collated.
According to Davido, he refused to take down his posts despite the calls, insisting that he would continue publishing his updates until the Independent National Electoral Commission officially announced the result.
“I heard the Senate President was trying to call the collation centre… They were calling me to delete. I said sorry o. You guys have literally just gone against my uncle… I can’t delete anything. Uncle Aliko called me too. I said, ‘Uncle, I’m not deleting until the INEC announcement,’” he said.
Davido also alleged that huge sums of money were deployed in an attempt to influence the outcome of the election, claiming that more than N110bn was brought into Osun State.
“I just confirmed today. They spent N110 billion. I’m coming from somewhere where we had an insider who was sending us… If you see the cash these people brought in. If they had gotten away with that election, Nigeria is finished. Because the blueprint for election will now be violence and money,” he said.
The singer said his side did not engage in vote buying on election day, arguing that its strategy depended largely on voters resisting attempts to influence their choices with money.
“We didn’t spend a dime on election day. All we could do was just pray that these people take their money and vote for us,” Davido said.
He further claimed that some voters confronted individuals allegedly attempting to interfere with ballot materials.
“It got to a point where it was the Osun people that were beating the people that were trying to seize ballots. People are tired,” he added.
Davido described the outcome as evidence that voter loyalty and public support could overcome the influence of money and political machinery.
He said the victory of his uncle, Governor Ademola Adeleke, should serve as a lesson to elected officials seeking to retain public support.
“My uncle should be an example to all other government officials and governors. When you stand by the people, the people will stand by you,” he said.
Davido’s involvement in the Osun election has attracted attention because of his family’s longstanding political ties in the state. His late uncle, Isiaka Adeleke, was Osun’s first civilian governor in 1992, while Ademola Adeleke currently serves as governor.
