Adedeji Adeleke: ‘APC’s Vote Buying Took Osun Race Close — Without It, Adeleke Would Have Won by Over 100,000’

Adedeji Adeleke, father of Afrobeats superstar Davido and elder brother of Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke, has attributed his younger brother’s victory in the August 15, 2026 governorship election to what he described as divine intervention, while alleging that massive vote buying by the All Progressives Congress (APC) significantly narrowed the margin.

Speaking in a viral video, Adedeji said he believed the election would have produced a much wider victory for his brother if voters had not been offered money by opposition political actors.

According to him, he was particularly concerned after hearing reports that voters were allegedly being offered as much as ₦50,000 in some locations. He also claimed that the APC spent as much as ₦60 billion on vote buying during the election.

Adedeji, however, said he did not believe money alone determined the final outcome. Instead, he said he retreated to his private space, knelt down and prayed that voters who collected money would nevertheless exercise their constitutional right by voting for Ademola Adeleke.

“Let people collect their money, but let them still vote for Ademola Adeleke,” he said.

He further described the outcome as part of his personal testimony and linked his confidence during the political battle to his Christian faith. He specifically referenced Isaiah 41:10, a Bible passage he said forms part of his daily prayer routine.

The comments come against the backdrop of a closely fought Osun election in which the incumbent governor, Ademola Adeleke, contested under the Accord Party against APC candidate Bola Oyebamiji.

According to the results declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Adeleke secured 511,067 votes, defeating Oyebamiji by 66,252 votes. Premium Times reported that the APC candidate was Adeleke’s closest challenger.

The closeness of the contest gives context to Adedeji Adeleke’s argument that the election could have produced a substantially larger margin. His suggestion that the difference would have exceeded 100,000 votes without alleged vote buying, however, remains his personal assessment and is not an independently established electoral fact.

Vote buying was already a major concern before the election. Reports during the campaign period documented allegations of politicians using cash and other inducements to influence voters, underscoring the longstanding problem of electoral inducement in Nigerian elections.

Importantly, the ₦60 billion figure cited by Adedeji should also be treated as an allegation rather than an independently verified expenditure. The available reports attribute the claim to him; they do not establish that the APC actually spent that amount.

The political significance of his statement, nevertheless, lies in its blunt assessment of the role money allegedly played in the contest. His argument is essentially that even where voters accept financial inducements, politicians cannot necessarily guarantee how those voters will ultimately cast their ballots.

For Adedeji, the final result therefore represented more than a political victory. It was, in his telling, a demonstration of faith: voters may have collected money, but his brother still emerged victorious.

The 2026 Osun election has consequently reopened an important debate about vote buying, voter independence and the true influence of financial inducements on electoral outcomes. While allegations surrounding spending and vote buying require independent verification, the narrow 66,252-vote margin makes the question of how much money, machinery and grassroots mobilisation influenced the race particularly significant.