Afrobeats star David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, has claimed that Senate President Godswill Akpabio and billionaire businessman Aliko Dangote contacted him during the Osun State governorship election and asked him to delete posts he made on social media.
Davido made the claim during an interview with News Central TV on Tuesday while discussing his involvement in monitoring the election and the pressure he allegedly faced as results were being collated.
The singer also alleged that more than N110 billion was brought into Osun State in an attempt to influence the outcome of the election.
“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,” he said.
Davido said he believed allowing such alleged electoral practices to succeed would set a dangerous precedent for future elections in Nigeria.
He maintained that his camp did not distribute money to voters on election day, relying instead on voters to protect their ballots and exercise their franchise.
“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,” he said.
The singer also claimed that some voters confronted individuals allegedly attempting to interfere with the voting process.
“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 said.
On his social media activity during the election, Davido said he received calls from influential figures asking him to remove posts from X, formerly Twitter, in which he shared information about the voting process and alleged irregularities.
“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,” he said.
He added that Dangote also contacted him, but he refused to remove the posts until the Independent National Electoral Commission announced the final result.
“Uncle Aliko called me too. I said, ‘Uncle, I’m not deleting until the INEC announcement,” Davido said.
The singer described the victory of his uncle, Governor Ademola Adeleke, as evidence that popular support could overcome financial and political influence.
“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 has maintained close ties with Osun politics through his family. His late uncle, Isiaka Adeleke, was the first civilian governor of Osun State, while Ademola Adeleke is the incumbent governor.
