Davido: My uncle proved election victory can be secured through popular support

Afrobeats star David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, has described his uncle, Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke, as an example of how leaders who work for the people can earn their loyalty at the ballot box.

Davido, speaking in an interview with News Central on the outcome of the Osun governorship election, said the result demonstrated that voters could resist money and intimidation when determined to choose their preferred candidate.

He said the election was particularly significant because, in his view, it showed that political victory could still be secured through popular support rather than financial inducement.

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“If they had gotten away with that election, Nigeria is finished because the blueprint for the election would not be violence and money,” he said.

According to him, the Adeleke campaign did not spend money on voters on election day, but relied on prayers and the willingness of the people to vote according to their convictions.

“We did not spend a dime on election day. What we could do is just pray that the people took their money and voted for us,” he said.

Davido also alleged that he closely monitored the uploading of results by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), claiming that results from polling units were initially being uploaded at regular intervals before the process was delayed.

“My checkmating INEC, when the election started, the results were being offloaded every thirty minutes in about 3,700 polling units. But when it got to 3,200, for about five hours, it stopped,” he said.

The singer said he became suspicious during the delay, alleging that he believed there were attempts to manipulate the process because the margin between Adeleke and the APC candidate was already substantial.

“I already knew what was going on, that they were trying to see how to manipulate, and that is different when you are losing with over 60,000 votes,” he said.

He further claimed that several influential Nigerians contacted him during the collation of results, asking him to moderate his public comments and social media posts.

Davido said he refused to delete his posts until INEC formally announced the final result, insisting that the people of Osun had exercised their constitutional right to choose their governor.

He also said the election reached a point where residents themselves resisted attempts to disrupt the process, describing the development as evidence of growing voter determination.

“It got to a point that it was the Osun people that were beating the people that came to snatch the ballot box because people are tired,” he said.

The singer subsequently linked Adeleke’s victory to the governor’s relationship with the people, arguing that leaders who deliver for their constituents could count on them when elections came.

“My uncle should be an example to all other government officials and governors that when you stand by the people, they will also stand by you,” he said.

The 2026 Osun governorship election, held on August 15, was a closely watched contest between the incumbent Adeleke of the Accord Party, APC candidate Bola Oyebamiji and ADC candidate Najeem Salaam, among others.

INEC declared Adeleke the winner after he secured 511,067 votes, defeating Oyebamiji, who polled 444,815 votes, by 66,252 votes. Salaam finished third with 17,180 votes.

The result gave Adeleke a second term and marked another chapter in Osun’s fiercely competitive electoral history. In the 2022 election, Adeleke defeated the then incumbent,

Gboyega Oyetola of the APC, with 403,371 votes against Oyetola’s 375,027.

For Davido, however, the significance of the result went beyond his uncle’s re-election, as he argued that the outcome represented a defence of voters’ freedom to choose their preferred candidates irrespective of political party.

“Do you know what it means for people to give you over 400,000 votes? That is not a joke,” he said, adding that the people of Osun had demonstrated that they could determine the direction of their state through the ballot.

He said the outcome should serve as a warning against attempts to manipulate elections or impose candidates on voters.

“For the people of Osun State, I don’t think they know what they have done for the state and Nigeria because if they had taken this one, I don’t think there is hope for anything,” he said.

“People should be able to choose who they want from the different parties in different states. It is only fair.”

Davido added that with Adeleke’s victory, despite the odds against the governor, had strengthened his belief in the power of voters and divine intervention.

“With all odds against us, my uncle came out triumphant. It just proves to me that God is real,” he said.