Osun 2026: Davido Sets Wednesday Briefing On Security, INEC Transparency
Afrobeats star David Adeleke, better known as Davido, will on Wednesday face journalists and residents in Osogbo to speak on security, the preparations of the Independent National Electoral Commission and questions of transparency surrounding the August 15 Osun State governorship election, according to an invitation released by the Imole Campaign Council on Tuesday.
The briefing is scheduled for 11am at Imole House, Osogbo. Announcing it on X, the singer wrote, “I will be having a press conference tomorrow at Imole House, Osogbo, to discuss security, INEC and transparency issues.” The campaign invitation described the event as “Davido addresses issues (security, INEC transparency and other major issues) surrounding Osun 2026 gubernatorial election.”
Davido, a nephew of Governor Ademola Adeleke, was named Chairman of the Imole Youth Mobilisation Campaign Council in May 2026 and inaugurated a 43 member youth committee with Adeshina Kayode Olododo as Vice Chairman and Gbenga Idowu as Secretary. He also announced then that he had collected his membership card of the Accord Party, the platform on which the governor is seeking a second term after his 2022 victory under the Peoples Democratic Party.
His intervention comes at a tense moment. INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan, told a stakeholders’ forum in Osogbo on July 29 that the certified register for the poll contains 2,339,233 voters spread across 30 local government areas, 332 registration areas and 3,763 polling units, with 14 political parties in contention. He said 4,427 BVAS devices, including 664 backup units representing a 15 per cent operational reserve, had been customised for the state, and that polling unit result sheets would be uploaded to the INEC Result Viewing Portal once voting closes. Permanent Voter Card collection was extended to July 31 after 322,822 newly registered voters, about 62 per cent, picked up their cards before the earlier deadline.
Osogbo Local Government has the largest share of registered voters at 167,704, followed by Ife East with 128,515 and Olorunda with 123,063, according to the electronic register presented to political parties by the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mrs Oluwatoyin Babalola.
The commission has acknowledged the security question directly. At a peace accord signing organised with candidates, Amupitan said the commission was “deeply concerned by several reports of violence and threats,” adding, “We recognise that insecurity is a direct assault on the sanctity of the ballot, and it is a menace we are determined to overcome.”
Tension sharpened in the final week of July when police raided the Osogbo residence of the Secretary to the State Government, Teslim Igbalaye, arresting him alongside five others. The Osun State Police Command, through its spokesperson, DSP Abiodun Ojelabi, said N4,810,500, two voter cards, a voter register and other items suspected to be linked to electoral offences were recovered. Igbalaye was later released, though the command said investigations continue.
The state government rejected the police account and alleged that the homes of about six commissioners had also been raided, saying, “The police has become a major threat to the conduct of free and fair election in Osun State.” Governor Adeleke responded on X, declaring, “As we approach the August 15 governorship election, I have absolute confidence that no amount of external interference or intimidation can override the collective will of the people of Osun State.”
The APC Campaign Council, through its Media Committee Chairman, Remi Omowaiye, backed the police operation, saying, “This latest raid has vindicated our party.”
Days later, the Inspector General of Police, Olatunji Disu, deployed CP Erale Samuel Etaifo to coordinate election security, replacing CP Ibrahim Gotan.
The stakes are measurable. Adeleke unseated then Governor Gboyega Oyetola in 2022 with 403,371 votes to 375,027, a margin of 28,344 across 17 of 30 local governments, on a turnout of 42.16 per cent. He now faces Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji of the APC, backed by Oyetola, currently Minister of Marine and Blue Economy. With margins historically thin, Wednesday’s briefing places one of Nigeria’s most followed entertainers at the centre of an increasingly contested pre election argument over neutrality.