Ayodele Fayose alleges Accord Party spent at least N40bn in Osun election, challenging Davido’s claim that the party spent nothing
Former Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose on Wednesday, August 19, 2026, alleged that the Accord Party spent at least N40 billion during the August 15 Osun State governorship election, directly challenging claims made by Afrobeats star Davido about the party’s campaign spending.
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Fayose made the allegation during an interview on TVC’s Politics Tonight, while discussing the disputed claims surrounding vote-buying and spending during the election.
The former governor’s comments followed Davido’s claim that the All Progressives Congress spent about N110 billion on vote-buying during the poll.
Davido, who is a nephew of Governor Ademola Adeleke, also maintained that Accord Party did not spend money to secure support, arguing that the party relied on the people of Osun State.
Fayose strongly disputed that account, insisting that both leading political camps spent substantial sums during the contest.
“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 further alleged that more than N7.5 billion was distributed to local governments and wards shortly before the election.
“Secondly, on Monday, they sent over N7.5 billion to the various local governments. Various wards,” Fayose alleged.
He claimed that the minimum allocation to individual wards was about N35 million, depending on the number of polling units involved.
“The minimum for the wards would be about N35 million in a ward of about seven, eight, nine polling units,” he added.
Fayose’s allegation adds another layer to the growing dispute over the role of money in the Osun election.
Claims of vote-buying have emerged from different political camps since the poll, with rival parties accusing one another of using financial inducements to influence voters.
The former governor also rejected the idea that either major political side could attribute its performance entirely to popular support, suggesting that significant financial resources were deployed by competing interests.
Davido’s earlier comments had painted a contrasting picture of the Accord campaign, with the singer insisting that the party did not rely on financial inducement.
The conflicting accounts have not, however, established independently that N40 billion was spent by Accord Party or that N110 billion was spent by the APC on vote-buying.
Fayose’s figures remain allegations made during a political interview and would require independent verification.
The controversy comes as political actors continue to assess the outcome of the August 15 election and debate the factors that influenced voter behaviour across Osun.
Fayose’s intervention is particularly significant because the former governor has been an outspoken commentator on the opposition’s prospects and the conduct of Nigerian elections.
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The competing claims over campaign spending are likely to keep the issue of electoral inducement at the centre of the post-election conversation, particularly as political parties begin looking ahead to the wider 2027 electoral cycle.
