I can’t influence INEC, face your music — Faleke replies Davido

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By Bayo Wahab

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The Representative of Ikeja Federal Constituency in Lagos, James Faleke, has denied attempting to influence the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over the outcome of the Osun State governorship election.

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Faleke, who supported the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, made the clarification in a post on X on Sunday in response to a comment by Nigerian singer, David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido.

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Davido had, during the collation of the election results in Osogbo on Saturday, accused Faleke of putting pressure on INEC to alter the outcome of the poll.

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“Hon. James Faleke, stop putting pressure on INEC to change Osun election result. Respect the wishes of Osun people. We don’t want Oyetola and AMBO,” Davido wrote.

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Responding, Faleke said his presence in Osun was solely to support his party’s candidate, while noting that Davido backed his uncle, Governor Ademola Adeleke, who contested under the Accord Party.

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“I came to Osun to support my party’s candidate, while you supported your uncle’s party (Accord). INEC is a body that can’t be influenced by me or anyone else,” Faleke said.

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He added, “I have never influenced or rigged before and I don’t plan to start now. Face your music while we face our politics.”

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Following INEC’s declaration of Adeleke as winner of the election, Faleke in a separate post congratulated the governor on his re-election.

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He also commended Oyebamiji for what he described as a “very good outing” and praised the APC candidate for his commitment and sportsmanship during the electoral process.

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“I would also like to congratulate the Governor and candidate of the Accord Party, Governor Ademola Nurudeen Adeleke, on his re-election as Governor of Osun State. I wish him a successful tenure and urge him to continue to work for the peace, progress, and development of the state,” he wrote.

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Faleke further described the election as evidence that democracy remained vibrant in Nigeria, while commending President Bola Tinubu’s administration for what he called its commitment to democratic values.

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He also praised INEC for the conduct of the election and security agencies for maintaining what he described as a peaceful and orderly process.

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Adeleke was declared winner of the election after polling 511,067 votes, defeating Oyebamiji, who secured 444,815 votes.

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