Afrobeats star David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, has revealed that Senate President Godswill Akpabio and billionaire businessman Aliko Dangote were among prominent Nigerians who contacted him and asked him to delete his social media posts during the Osun State governorship election.
Davido made the disclosure on Tuesday during an exclusive interview with News Central TV, where he spoke about his involvement in monitoring the election and the pressure, he said he faced while results were being collated.
The singer, who is a nephew of Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke, said he refused to remove his posts from X, formerly known as Twitter, because he believed they were important in keeping the public informed about developments during the election.
According to him, he was contacted by several influential individuals as he continued to post updates about the poll, including reports about delays and the collation of results.
“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.
Davido added that Dangote also contacted him and appealed to him to take down the posts.
“Uncle Aliko called me too. I said, ‘Uncle, I’m not deleting until the INEC announcement,’” he said.
The singer did not provide further details about the alleged calls or explain what the individuals told him beyond his account of their requests.
Davido also made a serious allegation about the amount of money allegedly deployed by political actors during the election.
He claimed that more than N110 billion in cash 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 alleged that the money was part of an attempt to manipulate voters and the electoral process.
“If they had gotten away with that election, Nigeria is finished. Because the blueprint for election will now be violence and money,” he said.
However, the singer did not provide publicly verifiable evidence in the interview to support the N110 billion figure, and the claim could not be independently established from the information available.
The musician said his family and supporters did not engage in financial inducement on election day, adding that they depended on voters to protect their ballots and support the governor.
“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.
Davido further claimed that some residents took matters into their own hands when attempts were allegedly made to interfere with voting.
“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.
His comments came after a keenly contested governorship election in Osun State in which Governor Adeleke emerged victorious.
The election attracted significant political attention because of the involvement of major political parties and the wider political importance attached to Osun, a state that has remained an important battleground in South-West politics.
The governor contested the election on the platform of the Accord Party, while the All Progressives Congress fielded Bola Oyebamiji as its candidate. Najeem Salaam contested on the platform of the African Democratic Congress.
Following the declaration of the results, Adeleke secured 511,067 votes, while Oyebamiji polled 444,815 votes. Salaam came third with 67,869 votes.
Davido said the result showed that political power could not always overcome strong support from voters.
He described his uncle’s victory as an example for other elected officials, saying leaders who remain close to the people could count on their support during elections.
“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 was closely watched because of his family’s longstanding political ties to the state.
His late uncle, Senator Isiaka Adeleke, was the first civilian governor of Osun State, serving from 1992 to 1993. Isiaka Adeleke later served as a senator representing Osun West.
His other uncle, Ademola Adeleke, became governor of Osun State after winning the 2022 governorship election and secured another term in the 2026 poll.
Davido had been actively involved in the election campaign and voting process, using his large social media following to share information and comment on developments.
On election day, he also raised concerns about his movement into Osun State, alleging that soldiers were attempting to prevent him from entering the state. He argued that citizens had a right to move freely.
His latest disclosure adds another layer to the controversy and political drama surrounding the election, particularly concerning the role of social media, influential individuals and alleged attempts to control information during the voting and collation process.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, which conducted the election, has the responsibility of declaring official results and managing the collation process.
Davido said he deliberately kept his posts online until INEC made its official announcement because he believed removing the updates could create confusion and limit public access to information.
The singer’s comments are likely to generate further debate over the influence of money, political connections and social media personalities in Nigerian elections.
His allegation of massive spending, however, remains a claim that would require independent investigation and evidence to establish.