Afrobeats superstar David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, has alleged that Senate President Godswill Akpabio and billionaire businessman Aliko Dangote contacted him to delete his social media updates during the recently concluded Osun State governorship election.
Davido, who is a nephew of Governor Ademola Adeleke, made the disclosure during an interview with News Central TV on Tuesday, where he spoke about the events surrounding the election and the pressure he allegedly faced while monitoring the poll.
The singer also alleged that political actors deployed huge financial resources in an attempt to influence the outcome of the election, claiming that more than N110bn 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 alleged that the huge amount was intended to manipulate the election, describing the development as a threat to Nigeria’s democratic process.
According to him, his family’s political camp did not engage in financial inducement of voters on election day but relied on voters and residents to protect their votes.
“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 residents eventually resisted attempts to interfere with the voting process.
“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,” he added.
The singer also disclosed that he received calls from influential figures during the collation of results, allegedly urging him to remove his posts from X, formerly known as Twitter.
He said he had been using the platform to provide updates on polling-unit results and raise concerns over delays in the collation process.
“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 stated.
Davido added that Dangote also contacted him, but he rejected the request.
“Uncle Aliko called me too. I said, ‘Uncle, I’m not deleting until the INEC announcement,’” he said.
Davido said the eventual victory of his uncle showed that popular support could prevail over 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.
(The Whistler)