Former Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose has alleged that the Accord Party spent atleast N40 billion to its campaign and election activities during the Osun State governorship election.
Fayose made the claim while speaking with TVC journalist, Nifemi Oguntoye, in a video shared on X on Wednesday.
His statement followed a recent claim by Afrobeats singer, David Adeleke, better known as Davido, that the All Progressives Congress spent N110 billion on vote-buying during the election.
Davido, whose uncle, Ademola Adeleke, contested the election on the platform of the Accord Party, had argued that the party did not rely on financial inducement to secure victory. Instead, he said, it depended on the backing of Osun voters.
Fayose, however, offered a different account of the election, insisting that both leading political parties deployed substantial financial resources during the contest.
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He said the spending attributed to the Accord Party was far higher than suggested by Davido.
“Accord Party led the opponents. The money that went to that election from the Accord party itself cannot be under N40 billion. I stand to be corrected,” Fayose said.
The former governor went further, alleging that about N7.5 billion was released across local governments and wards shortly before the election.
“Secondly, on Monday, they sent over N7.5 billion to the various local governments. Various wards. The minimum for the wards that got the minimum would be about N35 million.
“In a ward of about 7, 8, 9 polling units,” he said.
Fayose did not, however, present evidence to support the financial figures he mentioned.
He also said the two major contenders exceeded the statutory limit on election spending.
“The fact remains that both parties spent stupendously. They spent beyond the threshold like every other political party,” he said.
The former governor questioned the timing of some alleged payments made ahead of the poll, particularly in relation to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s decision to freeze accounts.
He said the distribution of funds so close to election day raised questions about the purpose of the payments.
“The 120 million that went out like a week before the election that prompted the EFCC to freeze their account shows that something is not right.
“Why don’t you send those to the people six months ago?” he asked.
Despite his claims about campaign spending, Fayose said the scale of the alleged expenditure did not erase the importance of the election result.
Adeleke, who contested on the Accord platform, won the election with 511,067 votes, defeating the APC candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, who recorded 444,815 votes.
The 66,252-vote difference, Fayose argued, was significantly influenced by the Adeleke family’s political dominance in Ede.
“The Adelekes are rooted in their hometown. Omisore or APC has no presence. So courting an Omisore or giving an Omisore the nomination, what would it change? Nothing.
“Because 66,000 votes differential, 46,000 from Ede alone. You can’t do nothing about it.”
He consequently rejected the argument that the APC lost simply because of its choice of candidate.
Fayose also advised the APC to seek judicial intervention if it believed there were grounds to dispute the result.
“I think they should go to court,” he said.
When asked whether the party stood to gain anything from challenging the outcome, he said questionable figures should be subjected to scrutiny.
“I believe it was pirated. That’s what I believe,” he said, referring to the votes recorded in Ede.
Fayose further said President Bola Tinubu had the influence to assist the APC during the election but chose not to interfere.
He described Tinubu’s conduct during the Osun poll as “magnanimous”, comparing it with his experience during the 2018 Ekiti governorship election.
Looking ahead to the 2027 elections, Fayose said the Osun result should not be interpreted as proof that the opposition had gained a stronger footing.
According to him, the opposition had already lost its biggest opportunity by failing to unite.
“The only thing that can give them hope has passed, which is they are coming together. They have failed to come together, and they cannot retrieve that back. That is certain,” he said.