Former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, on Wednesday alleged that the Accord Party (A) spent at least ₦40 billion in the Osun State governorship election held on August 15, 2026.
NEWSNGR had earlier reported that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared incumbent governor Ademola Adeleke as the winner of the election.
Adeleke defeated the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, and 13 other governorship candidates.
Fayose, in an interview with TVC journalist, Nifemi Oguntoye, claimed that about ₦7.5 billion was released to local governments and wards shortly before the poll.
The former governor’s stance comes after award-winning singer David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, accused the APC of spending ₦110 billion on vote buying during the election.
Davido further stated that the ruling party in Osun State did not rely on financial inducement to win, but was carried by the support of Osun voters.
Fayose, however, stated that the two leading parties committed substantial funds to the contest.
The former governor said, “Accord Party led the opponents. The money that went to that election from the Accord Party itself cannot be under ₦40 billion. I stand to be corrected.”
He went further to allege that billions of naira were moved to various local government areas and wards shortly before election day.
“Secondly, on Monday, they sent over ₦7.5 billion to the various local governments. Various wards. The minimum for the wards that got the minimum would be about ₦35 million,” Fayose alleged.
He explained that some of the affected wards had between seven and nine polling units.
Fayose said the level of spending by the two major contenders went beyond what was legally permitted.
“The fact remains that both parties spent stupendously. They spent beyond the threshold like every other political party,” he said.
The former governor also raised questions about alleged financial transactions shortly before the election, linking them to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) ‘s decision to freeze the state government’s accounts.
He questioned the rationale for releasing money to the electorate close to an election instead of providing such funds much earlier.
“The ₦20 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.
While criticising the alleged financial inducement surrounding the election, Fayose said the scale of Adeleke’s victory should not be dismissed.
Fayose argued that the geographical distribution of the votes was more revealing than the overall margin, pointing particularly to Ede, where the Adeleke family has strong political roots.
“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 said.
He consequently rejected the argument that the APC’s defeat was caused solely by the decision to field Oyebamiji.
According to him, the political influence enjoyed by the Adeleke family in Ede remained a significant advantage during the election.
Fayose also advised the APC to approach the courts if the party believed that the result was compromised.
“I think they should go to court,” he said when asked whether the opposition party should challenge the outcome.
He maintained that questionable figures should be subjected to judicial scrutiny if the APC had sufficient evidence to support its case.
Speaking specifically about the votes attributed to Adeleke in Ede, Fayose said, “I believe it was pirated. That’s what I believe.”
