Afrobeats star David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, has alleged that Senate President Godswill Akpabio and billionaire businessman Aliko Dangote were among prominent Nigerians who contacted 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 recounted the pressure he faced while monitoring the election and posting updates on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The singer also alleged that political opponents deployed huge sums of money in an attempt to influence the outcome of the election, claiming that more than ₦110 billion in cash was brought into the state.
“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. If they had gotten away with that election, Nigeria is finished. Because the blueprint for election will now be violence and money,” Davido said.
He said his team did not distribute money to voters on election day, relying instead on voter mobilisation and vigilance to protect the electoral process.
“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 voters resisted attempts to disrupt the process, saying, “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.”
The singer also disclosed that he received calls from influential individuals as results were being collated, allegedly urging him to remove his posts detailing developments at polling units and collation centres.
According to Davido, he was told that the Senate President was attempting to reach the collation centre and that some individuals subsequently contacted him to delete his posts.
“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.
He added that Dangote also contacted him, but he refused to take down his posts until the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officially announced the result.
“Uncle Aliko called me too. I said, ‘Uncle, I’m not deleting until the INEC announcement,’” he said.
Davido said the victory of his uncle, Governor Ademola Adeleke, demonstrated that popular support could overcome financial and political influence.
“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 stated.
Davido’s involvement in Osun politics is closely linked to his family’s political history in the state. His late uncle, Senator Isiaka Adeleke, popularly known as “Serubawon,” was the first civilian governor of Osun State in 1992, while Ademola Adeleke is the incumbent governor.
