Isaac Fayose alleges APC spent ₦60bn on vote buying during the Osun election, while offering no public evidence to substantiate the claim
Isaac Fayose, younger brother of former Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose, has alleged that the All Progressives Congress spent about ₦60 billion on vote buying during the August 15 Osun governorship election, a claim he made without publicly presenting evidence to support the figure.
Also read: Aregbesola Congratulates Adeleke After Osun Victory
Fayose made the allegation during an interview with News Central Television on Monday, accusing the APC of using money to influence voters and questioning the role of the Independent National Electoral Commission, the police and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
He also alleged that public funds were ultimately involved in the money used for vote buying, although he did not provide evidence establishing the source of the alleged ₦60 billion.
“The APC bought votes worth about N60 billion. When you buy votes worth N60 billion, where did they get this money from?” Fayose said.
Fayose further claimed that the APC would not have secured 100,000 votes without vote buying, while criticising security agencies over what he described as failures to prevent electoral malpractice.
“You and I know it. They don’t love them; they don’t like them. So, vote-buying made them get that figure,” he said.
The APC candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, ultimately polled 444,815 votes, finishing behind Governor Ademola Adeleke, who secured 511,067 votes, according to the results announced by INEC.
The 66,252-vote margin gave Adeleke victory in 19 of Osun State’s 30 local government areas, while Oyebamiji won 11.
Fayose’s allegation therefore concerns an election in which the APC recorded a substantial vote share despite failing to unseat the incumbent governor.
The ₦60 billion figure, however, has not been independently established from the information publicly available.
His comments also extended to the conduct of security personnel during the election.
Fayose alleged that police armoured vehicles were used in an attempt to interfere with ballot boxes, describing the incident as an unacceptable use of state resources.
“You saw what the police did in Osun. That’s the first time the police will be using our armoured vehicles to snatch ballot boxes,” he said.
He credited Osun voters with resisting what he described as attempts to manipulate the election.
The allegation comes as the APC campaign organisation itself continues to scrutinise the election result.
APC Campaign Director-General Oluwole Oke has said the party does not currently accept INEC’s declaration and has begun auditing electoral documents submitted by its polling agents.
The APC says it is reviewing Forms EC8A, EC8B and EC8C from polling units and wards across the state before deciding whether to pursue legal action.
That position differs significantly from Fayose’s allegation, which focuses on alleged vote buying rather than the APC’s stated concerns over the validity and collation of votes.
Concerns about electoral conduct have nevertheless formed part of the wider discussion surrounding the Osun poll.
The British High Commission in Nigeria commended the peaceful participation of voters while raising concerns about vote buying, accessibility challenges and problems involving the biometric voter accreditation system.
The election also attracted reactions from political figures across Nigeria.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu congratulated Adeleke after INEC declared him winner, while former Osun Governor Rauf Aregbesola also urged political actors to respect the voters’ decision.
Fayose’s allegation remains an allegation and would require credible evidence or an investigation to establish whether the claimed ₦60 billion was actually spent on vote buying.
For now, the claim adds another contentious layer to the aftermath of a closely watched election that has already produced competing narratives from the ruling party, opposition groups and political observers.
Also read: Aregbesola Congratulates Adeleke After Osun Victory
With the APC conducting its own audit and the results still open to any formal legal challenge permitted under Nigeria’s electoral framework, scrutiny of the election is likely to continue.
