Former Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has alleged that the Accord Party spent no less than N40 billion during the August 15 Osun State governorship election.

Fayose made the claim in a video interview with TVC journalist Nifemi Oguntoye, posted on the journalist’s X handle on Wednesday.

His comments followed allegations by Afrobeats singer David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, that the All Progressives Congress (APC) spent N110 billion on vote-buying during the election.

Davido, who is the nephew of the incumbent governor and Accord candidate, Ademola Adeleke, had also claimed that his uncle’s party did not spend money during the election but relied on the support of Osun voters.

Reacting, however, Fayose dismissed claims that either of the two leading parties won solely through popular support or prayers, insisting that both spent heavily during the poll.

“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, claiming that some wards received at least N35 million.

“Secondly, 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,” he said.

Fayose, however, did not provide evidence to substantiate the figures.

He maintained that both Accord and APC exceeded the legal spending limit for political parties during the election.

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

The former governor also questioned the movement of funds shortly before the election, citing the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s freezing of accounts linked to the Osun government.

He said the release of about N20 million shortly before the election was suspicious and suggested that “something is not right.”

Adeleke defeated the APC candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, with 511,067 votes against Oyebamiji’s 444,815, giving him a margin of 66,252 votes.

Fayose attributed a significant portion of Adeleke’s advantage to the governor’s stronghold in Ede, saying the Adeleke family’s political influence there was difficult for the APC to overcome.

“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 said.

He consequently rejected the argument that the APC’s choice of candidate was solely responsible for its defeat, stressing that the Adeleke family’s political strength in Ede played a major role.

On whether the APC should challenge the election result in court, Fayose said, “I think they should go to court.”

Asked whether the party stood to gain from litigation, he said the results should be contested if there were sufficient grounds, adding that he believed the votes recorded in Ede had been manipulated.

“I believe it was pirated. That’s what I believe,” he said.

Fayose also said President Bola Tinubu could have influenced the election in favour of the APC if he had chosen to do so, but decided against it.

He had previously described Tinubu as “magnanimous” in his handling of the Osun election, contrasting it with his experience during the 2018 Ekiti governorship election.

The former governor, who remains a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, also dismissed suggestions that the Osun result had strengthened the opposition’s chances ahead of the 2027 general elections.

According to him, the opposition’s failure to unite has undermined whatever advantage it might have gained from the election.

“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,” Fayose said.