Businessman and philanthropist Deji Adeleke, the father of Afrobeats star Davido and elder brother of Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke, has alleged that the All Progressives Congress (APC) spent about ₦60 billion on vote-buying during the recently concluded Osun State governorship election.
Adeleke also alleged that the party offered as much as ₦50,000 to individual voters in some parts of the state in an attempt to influence the outcome of the election.
He made the allegations while speaking in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, where he reflected on the fierce contest between Governor Ademola Adeleke and the APC candidate, Bola Oyebamiji.
According to Deji Adeleke, reports about the alleged scale of vote-buying caused him considerable concern on election day. He said that rather than becoming discouraged, he withdrew to a private corner of his room and prayed for voters to resist the influence of the money they were allegedly offered.
He said his prayer was that voters would collect whatever money was offered to them but ultimately exercise their constitutional right according to their conscience.
“On the day of the election, when I heard about the kind of money they were spending, I went back to my little corner in my room and I knelt down and I prayed to God Almighty,” he said.
He added: “I said, ‘God Almighty, let people collect their money but still vote for Ademola Adeleke.’”
Deji Adeleke claimed that the APC allegedly deployed huge financial resources during the election, putting the total amount at about ₦60 billion.
“They spent N60 billion as we heard. Some places they bought votes for as high as 50,000, for one single vote,” he alleged.
The claims have not been independently established as the total amount spent by the APC, and the figures should therefore be understood as allegations made by Adeleke. However, allegations of vote-buying and inducement featured prominently in the build-up to the Osun election.
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Before the poll, Governor Ademola Adeleke had accused APC agents of attempting to obtain voters’ cards and their associated PINs through monetary inducements. The governor warned residents not to surrender their voter cards, describing the alleged activities as an attempt to disenfranchise voters ahead of the election.
The APC, for its part, also made counter-allegations against the Adeleke administration. The party accused the governor of planning to pay ₦20,000 to civil servants, teachers, local government workers and other public employees in what it described as a vote-buying strategy. The allegations were denied by the Adeleke camp.
The issue became significant enough for electoral authorities and security agencies to publicly warn political actors against attempting to compromise the election through financial inducements.
INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, warned shortly before the election that anyone involved in vote-buying would face the full weight of the law. He also stressed that the electoral process should reflect the democratic will of Osun voters rather than be determined through intimidation, violence or financial inducement.
Security agencies also reported an alleged vote-buying incident before the election. On July 29, the Osun State Police Command announced the arrest of the state’s Secretary to the Government, Teslim Igbalaye, and five others over alleged vote-buying. Police said ₦4.8 million and other electoral materials were recovered during an operation in Osogbo. The allegations remained subject to investigation.
Against this backdrop, Deji Adeleke said he believed the electorate ultimately frustrated attempts to influence the election with money.
Governor Ademola Adeleke went on to secure victory over APC candidate Bola Oyebamiji. According to the figures cited in reports of the election, Adeleke polled 511,067 votes, while Oyebamiji recorded 444,815 votes, giving the incumbent a margin of 66,252 votes.
The result represented a significant victory for Adeleke, who had faced a highly competitive contest after moving from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the Accord Party for the election.
For Deji Adeleke, the outcome demonstrated that financial inducements could not necessarily guarantee electoral victory.
His account also echoes a broader and long-standing concern surrounding Nigerian elections, where allegations of vote-buying frequently emerge during campaign periods and on election day. The practice has continued to attract condemnation from electoral authorities, civil society organisations and political stakeholders because of its potential to undermine the independence of voters and weaken confidence in democratic processes.
The conflicting allegations from the APC and Adeleke’s camp also illustrate the intensity of the Osun contest, with both major political camps accusing the other of attempting to influence voters through financial incentives.
While Deji Adeleke’s ₦60 billion figure and claim of ₦50,000 payments per vote have not been independently verified, his comments have added another dimension to the debate over the role of money in the 2026 Osun governorship election.
The businessman maintained that his focus on election day was not on the money allegedly being distributed but on the hope that voters would ultimately make their choice at the ballot box.
For him, the eventual victory of his younger brother, Ademola Adeleke, was evidence that the electorate could not be completely swayed by the alleged financial inducements deployed during the contest.
