Afrobeats star David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, has spoken out on the recently concluded Osun State governorship election, alleging that attempts were made to manipulate the electoral process.

Davido, who has been vocal about political developments in Osun State, said the outcome of the election was significant for Nigeria’s democracy, warning that allowing electoral malpractice to succeed could encourage violence and vote-buying in future elections.

“If they had gotten away with what happened in the Osun State election, Nigeria would have been finished,” Davido said.

According to the singer, the election could have set a dangerous precedent if violence and financial inducement became accepted methods of winning elections.

He further claimed that his camp did not spend money on election day, saying they instead hoped that voters who were offered money would still cast their ballots according to their conscience.

Davido also raised concerns about the electronic transmission of results during the election. He alleged that results were initially being uploaded at regular intervals before the process suddenly stopped for several hours.

“When voting started, results were being uploaded every 30 minutes. After reaching over 3,200 results, the uploads stopped for more than five hours,” he said.

The singer said the development made him suspect that there was an attempt to interfere with the process, but added that the margin between the leading candidates made it difficult to alter the final outcome.

“I knew they were trying to manipulate the process, but when you’re losing by 60,000 to 70,000 votes, rigging becomes difficult,” he stated.

Davido also referred to efforts by political figures to influence events surrounding the collation process, claiming he heard that the Senate President was attempting to reach the collation centre.

He further mentioned an intervention involving businessman Aliko Dangote, alleging that Dangote called and requested that a particular post be deleted.

The singer praised his uncle, Governor Ademola Adeleke, for what he described as standing with the people, urging government officials to learn from his example.

“My uncle should serve as an example to other government officials. When you stand with the people, the people will stand with you,” Davido said.