Fayose Claims Accord Party Spent N40bn in Osun Election

Former Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has claimed that the Accord Party spent at least N40bn during the Osun State governorship election on August 15.

Fayose spoke in a video interview with TVC journalist, Nifemi Oguntoye. The video was shared on the journalist’s X handle on Wednesday.

His comments came after Afrobeats singer, David Adeleke, known as Davido, said the All Progressives Congress spent N110bn on vote-buying in the same election.

Davido, who is the nephew of the current governor and Accord Party candidate, Ademola Adeleke, stated that the Accord Party did not spend money but relied on the support of the people of Osun State.

In response, Fayose said both main parties spent heavily during the election. He dismissed claims that either party won just by prayers or support from the people.

“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.

He added that over N7.5bn was shared among various local governments and wards just before the election.

“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 give any proof for the numbers he mentioned.

He said both the Accord Party and the APC spent more than the legal limit on election expenses.

“The fact remains that both parties spent stupendously. They spent beyond the threshold like every other political party,” he said.

Fayose also questioned the timing of the money distribution just before the election. He referred to the freezing of accounts by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

“The N20 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.

Fayose said the large spending does not lessen the importance of the election results. He argued that the difference in votes between the two main candidates was more important than their total votes.

The Accord candidate, Adeleke, received 511,067 votes, beating the APC candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, who got 444,815 votes. The margin was 66,252 votes.

Fayose attributed much of the margin to Adeleke’s support 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 also rejected the idea that the APC’s candidate choice alone caused their loss. He said the Adeleke family's political strength in Ede played a big role.

When asked if the APC should challenge the election result in court, Fayose replied, “I think they should go to court.”

When asked if the party could gain anything from that, he said the numbers should be challenged if there were reasons to do so.

“I believe it was pirated. That’s what I believe,” he said, referring to the votes from Ede.

Fayose also said President Bola Tinubu could have helped the APC in the election if he wanted to, but chose not to.

He praised Tinubu's approach to the election, saying it was different from what he experienced during the 2018 Ekiti governorship election.

Fayose, who is still a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, dismissed claims that the Osun results gave the opposition hope for the 2027 elections.

He said the opposition's lack of unity has hurt their chances.

“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.