Afrobeats star Davido has described his uncle Ademola Adeleke’s re-election as proof that governors who serve their people well can earn their support at the polls, urging other public officials to follow the Osun governor’s example.

Governor Ademola Adeleke and Afrobeats Star Davido

Afrobeats singer David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, has described the re-election of his uncle, Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke, as a victory for the people, saying the governor’s performance should serve as an example to other governors and public officials.

Davido spoke at a press conference in Osun on Tuesday, two days after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Adeleke the winner of the August 16 governorship election.

“Congrats to Mr Governor on his re-election for the second term. Well-deserved, hard-fought battle. In fact, let me not call it battle, war.

“When you have 17 governors, 50 senators, House of Representatives, I don’t know how many there were, against one man, and he came out victorious. God is good,” the singer said.

Davido commended Osun voters for what he described as their determination to protect their votes throughout the electoral process.

“To the Osun people that not only voted for us, but stood their ground, defended their votes from the polling units all the way to the local coalition centres, then from there to the main coalition centre, that stayed up, stood outside, and the love. I’m very excited for these next four years for my uncle.

“Look how Osun is already thriving already. So I can just imagine the plans for the next four years. I don’t know how many times I cried that day, because the love was amazing,” he said.

The singer said Adeleke’s victory demonstrated that governors who serve their people well could count on their support at the polls.

“My uncle, the governor, should be an example to all other government officials out there, and governors. It shows that if you work well for the people, the people will work well for you, no matter what.

“They brought everything they could have used, and it didn’t work, because the people were with us, and God,” Davido said.

Sports Development Plans

The singer, who serves as chairman of the Osun State Sports Trust Fund, also disclosed plans to support sports development in the state and hold a concert in Osun once the stadium project is completed.

Davido said he had deliberately held back some of his planned projects until after the election, following criticism during the campaign over his activities as chairman of the trust fund.

“I wanted to do a lot of things, but I actually wanted to wait for the election to pass by. I know during the campaign, they were saying, ‘I’m the chairman of the trust fund, and I’ve not done anything’. But I’m almost done with the stadium. I’m actually going to go and visit the stadium today,” he said.

He said plans were also underway to establish a recreational centre for young people featuring football fields, swimming pools, paddle tennis, basketball and athletics facilities.

“There are plans to also build a recreational centre for the youth, which will involve football fields, swimming pools, paddle, tennis, basketball, track, everything sports. So that’s another project that I’m looking forward to.

“Most importantly, my job, a concert. Now we’re meant to do my last tour, but I think in December, the stadium should be done, I think, before inauguration. So I think after inauguration, we’ll have the Davido concert finally in Osun,” he said.

Davido had earlier celebrated his uncle’s victory shortly after INEC declared Adeleke the winner of the election on Sunday.

The singer, who played a prominent role in the campaign, posted “WE DID IT UNC!!!” on X alongside a video of himself celebrating the result.

He was highly involved in Adeleke’s campaign, serving as chairman of the Imole Youth Mobilisation Campaign Council. He participated in rallies and grassroots mobilisation activities and used his social media platforms to encourage voters to support his uncle and protect their votes.

Adeleke’s Re-election

Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State was first elected in 2022.

As the Returning Officer, Joshua Ogunwole, announced Adeleke as the winner, Davido jumped up, knelt and eventually lay on the floor in celebration, while members of his team joined him.

Adeleke, the candidate of the Accord Party, polled 511,067 votes to defeat his closest challenger, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, who scored 444,815 votes. Najeem Salaam of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) came third with 17,180 votes.

Adeleke won in 19 of the state’s 30 local government areas, while Oyebamiji won in 11.

The governor, who was first elected in 2022, secured another four-year term after INEC declared him the winner early on Sunday.

Following the declaration, celebrations broke out across Osun, particularly in Osogbo, the state capital, and Ede, Adeleke’s hometown, as supporters gathered to celebrate the governor’s return for a second term.

Adeleke described his re-election as a victory for democracy and the people of Osun, thanking President Bola Tinubu for supporting the democratic process and pledging to use his second term to transform the state from a civil service-dependent economy into an industrial hub.