Former Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has alleged that the Accord Party spent at least N40bn during the August 15 Osun State governorship election.
Fayose made the claim in a video interview with TVC journalist, Nifemi Oguntoye, shared on X on Wednesday.
His allegation came days after Afrobeats star, David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, accused the All Progressives Congress of spending about N110bn on vote-buying during the election.
Davido, whose uncle, Governor Ademola Adeleke, contested the election on the platform of the Accord Party, had also maintained that Adeleke’s camp did not spend money to buy votes on election day.
According to him, the Accord campaign relied on the support of Osun residents to secure victory.
Fayose, however, disputed that account, insisting that both major parties spent heavily during the fiercely contested election.
“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,” he said.
The former governor also alleged that more than N7.5bn was distributed to various local governments and wards shortly before the election.
He claimed some wards received about N35m, depending on the number of polling units in the area.
Fayose did not provide evidence to substantiate the N40bn or N7.5bn figures.
He nevertheless maintained that both Accord and APC exceeded the legal spending threshold during the election.
The spending allegation has drawn attention to Nigeria’s campaign finance rules. Under the Electoral Act 2026, the maximum expenditure permitted for a governorship candidate is N3bn.
Fayose’s comments came as the political battle over the outcome of the election continued.
The Independent National Electoral Commission declared Adeleke the winner after he secured 511,067 votes, defeating APC candidate Bola Oyebamiji, who polled 444,815 votes.
Adeleke won by 66,252 votes and secured victory in 19 of the state’s 30 local government areas. Oyebamiji won the remaining 11, while ADC candidate Najeem Salaam finished third with 17,180 votes.
Fayose said Adeleke’s political strength in Ede played a significant role in the final margin.
“The Adelekes are rooted in their hometown,” he said, arguing that the family’s political base in Ede gave the Accord candidate a major advantage.
He also advised the APC to challenge the election result in court if it believed the figures were inaccurate.
“I think they should go to court,” Fayose said.
The APC has already rejected the election outcome, with its Osun governorship campaign Director-General, Oluwole Oke, saying the party did not agree with INEC’s declaration and was reviewing election materials before deciding its next course of action.
Fayose also dismissed the argument that the APC’s choice of candidate alone was responsible for its defeat, saying the Adeleke family’s longstanding political influence in parts of Osun was a major factor.
He further argued that President Bola Tinubu could have influenced the election in favour of the APC if he wanted to, but chose not to.
Fayose described Tinubu’s handling of the Osun election as “magnanimous”, contrasting it with his experience during the 2018 Ekiti governorship election.
On the 2027 elections, Fayose said the opposition’s failure to unite had weakened its prospects against the ruling APC.
“The only thing that can give them hope has passed, which is they are coming together. They have failed to come together,” he said.
The allegations of massive campaign spending and vote-buying are now likely to form part of the wider political debate surrounding the Osun election, particularly as the APC considers whether to pursue a legal challenge.
