Former Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has claimed that the Accord Party spent no less than N40 billion during the August 15 Osun State governorship election.
Fayose made the claim in a video interview with TVC journalist, Nifemi Oguntoye, posted on the journalist’s X handle on Wednesday.
His comments followed an allegation by Afrobeats singer, David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, that the All Progressives Congress (APC) spent N110 billion on vote-buying during the election.
Davido, who is the nephew of the incumbent governor and Accord Party candidate, Ademola Adeleke, had also said the Accord Party did not spend money during the election but relied on the people of Osun State.
Reacting to the claim, Fayose said both leading parties spent heavily during the election and dismissed the suggestion that either side won solely through prayers or popular support.
He alleged that the Accord Party spent at least N40 billion during the election, adding that he stood to be corrected on the figure.
Fayose further alleged that more than N7.5 billion was distributed to various local governments and wards shortly before the election, with the minimum amount reportedly allocated to a ward put at about N35 million.
He said the alleged allocations were made to wards with about seven, eight or nine polling units.
Fayose, however, did not provide evidence to substantiate the figures he cited.
He maintained that both the Accord Party and APC spent beyond the legal threshold for election expenditure, saying the two parties spent heavily during the poll.
Fayose also questioned the distribution of money shortly before the election, referring to the freezing of accounts by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
He said the alleged transfer of N20 million about a week before the election, which he linked to the EFCC’s decision to freeze accounts, raised questions about the timing of the disbursement.
Fayose argued that such funds should have been distributed to beneficiaries earlier rather than shortly before the election.
The former governor said the heavy spending did not diminish the significance of the election result but argued that the margin between the two leading candidates was more important than their total votes.
The Accord candidate, Adeleke, polled 511,067 votes to defeat the APC candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, who secured 444,815 votes, giving Adeleke a margin of 66,252 votes.
Fayose attributed a substantial part of the margin to Adeleke’s stronghold in Ede, where he said the Adeleke family had deep political roots.
He said the 66,000-vote difference included about 46,000 votes from Ede and argued that the APC’s choice of candidate could not have significantly changed the outcome because of the Adeleke family’s political strength in the area.
On whether the APC should challenge the election result in court, Fayose advised the party to do so.
He said the figures should be contested if the party had grounds to challenge them, while expressing his belief that the votes recorded in Ede were questionable.
Fayose also maintained that President Bola Tinubu could have influenced the election in favour of the APC if he had wanted to, but chose not to.
He had previously described Tinubu as magnanimous in his handling of the election, comparing it with his experience during the 2018 Ekiti governorship election.
Fayose, who remains a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), also dismissed the suggestion that the Osun result had given the opposition greater hope ahead of the 2027 elections.
He argued that the opposition’s failure to unite had weakened its chances, adding that the opportunity for opposition parties to come together had already passed.