Afrobeats star, David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, has claimed that Senate President Godswill Akpabio contacted him during the Osun governorship election and asked him to delete a social media post he had made against him.
The music star, who actively canvassed support for his uncle during the election, had accused Nigeria's number three citizen of interfering with the collation process.
"Sen. President Akpabio has called the collation center that they should stop collation!!!!" Davido had alleged on Twitter.
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But while speaking about the August 15 governorship election on News Central, Davido said it was tough making his uncle, Governor Ademola Adeleke, secure a second term in office.
According to the singer, he became increasingly concerned when the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) allegedly stopped uploading results for several hours during the collation process.
Davido said results from about 3,700 polling units had initially been uploaded at regular intervals, but that the process stopped when results from about 3,200 units had been uploaded.
"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.
He claimed that the development made him suspect that attempts were being made to manipulate the election, particularly because his uncle was leading by a significant margin.
"I already knew what was going on, that they are trying to see how to manipulate, and that is different when you are losing with over 60,000 votes," he said.
Davido alleged that the situation also prompted phone calls from some influential political figures, including Akpabio, whom he described as his godfather.
"I heard the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, who is like my godfather, was trying to call the collation centre, and they were also calling me," he said.
According to him, he was asked to delete a tweet he had made concerning the situation, but he refused to do so until INEC officially announced the results.
"I said you guys have literally just gone against my uncle. They asked me to delete the tweet. Also, Uncle Aliko called me and I said I can't delete anything until INEC announced the results," Davido said.
The singer said the tension surrounding the election eventually reached a point where residents themselves resisted alleged attempts to disrupt voting and the electoral process.
"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.
He described the development as evidence that voters were increasingly determined to defend their votes, regardless of political affiliation.
Davido said the outcome of the election should also serve as a lesson to political leaders, arguing that public support could be earned when elected officials were perceived to have worked for the people.
"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 Independent National Electoral Commission declared Adeleke the winner after he polled 511,067 votes, defeating the APC candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, who secured 444,815 votes.
The margin of 66,252 votes gave Adeleke a second term after a keenly contested election that had attracted significant national attention.
Davido said the result was particularly important as it demonstrated that voters could still determine electoral outcomes despite the influence of money and political power.
"If they had gotten away with that election, Nigeria is finished because the blueprint for an election would now be violence and money," he said.
He maintained that his uncle's victory was ultimately a reflection of the decision of Osun voters, saying the people should be free to choose candidates from whichever political parties they preferred.
"With all odds against us, my uncle came out triumphant. It just proves to me that God is real," he said.
Daily Trust reports that the singer had been an outspoken supporter of Adeleke throughout the election campaign, repeatedly using his large social media following to promote his uncle's candidacy and respond to attacks from opposition figures.
His involvement became particularly prominent in the days leading to the election, when he publicly defended Adeleke against criticism from political opponents and used his platform to draw attention to issues surrounding the poll.
He openly confronted APC figures who campaigned against his uncle.
Davido described the contest as a battle against a formidable political machinery, claiming that Adeleke had defeated 17 governors and about 50 senators who backed the APC candidate.
He also openly confronted several APC leaders who campaigned against his uncle, including Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.
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At the APC mega rally in Osogbo, AbdulRazaq urged voters to support Oyebamiji, arguing that an APC governor would have closer access to President Bola Tinubu and attract federal support to the state.
Davido subsequently fired back at the Kwara governor, questioning what his access to the Presidential Villa had achieved for the state, particularly in the face of insecurity.
"Your accessibility to the Villa brought nothing but terrorism to Kwara," he wrote in a social media response.
Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, whose remarks about Adeleke's penchant for dancing also triggered a public clash with Davido.
The singer fired back at the Edo governor and later shared what appeared to be his WAEC result on social media
Davido had earlier joined Adeleke on the campaign trail and participated in a "Vote, Not Fight" campaign in Osogbo, where he called for a peaceful and credible election and appealed to President Bola Tinubu to ensure a free and fair poll.
His intervention continued on election day and during the collation of results, when he became an active commentator on developments at the polling units and collation centres.
Against this backdrop, his subsequent claim that Akpabio, Dangote and others contacted him over his election related posts came after days of increasingly direct confrontations with prominent APC figures.
