Afrobeats singer, David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, has said he will not apologise to Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, over his social media post displaying the governor’s alleged West African Examinations Council result.
Davido said he did nothing wrong by sharing the result, insisting that he was merely informing people of Edo State about the academic record of their governor.
The singer stated this in an exclusive interview with News Central on Tuesday in Osun State.
He said, “I’m not going to apologise. I didn’t do anything wrong. I was just telling people of the state the results their governor has.”
The controversy began after Okpebholo criticised Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, during political activities ahead of the August 15 governorship election in the state.
Okpebholo had mocked Adeleke over his penchant for dancing, questioning his leadership style while campaigning for the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, popularly known as AMBO.
The Edo governor said, “Before somebody signs paper, he will dance. Are you not tired? For four years, this man has been dancing. Before he takes breakfast, before he drinks tea, he will dance.”
Davido, who is Adeleke’s nephew and has been actively campaigning for his uncle, subsequently shared what appeared to be Okpebholo’s WAEC result on his Instagram Story on Friday.
The post, which had no caption, sparked reactions on social media, with Tugbiyele later describing it as inappropriate and disrespectful.
Reacting to the call for an apology, Davido defended his action and accused Okpebholo of leaving Edo State to attack his uncle in Osun.
He said, “Yes, and you came, you left your state, you came to another state. You came in and then started talking that my uncle is a dancer; he is not serious.
“The road to your Government House is not done. My uncle is not serious. First of all, you were not even elected; you were selected.”
The singer further questioned Okpebholo’s understanding of electoral victory, saying, “You don’t know what it means to win an election. That’s why you could go there and talk.”
Davido also criticised the governor for attacking Adeleke, saying he felt bad for Okpebholo’s children.
He said, “I feel so bad for his kids. Because you see what my dad is doing. Do you understand? Yeah, you’re abusing a sitting governor in his own state.”
He also mocked Okpebholo over his stay in a hotel, adding, “A whole governor staying in a hotel, walking around like…”
Davido then warned the Edo governor that Adeleke would return the political challenge when the time came.
He said, “In fact, finish your three years, we’ll visit you when it’s time for you to get re-elected.”
Tugbiyele called on Davido to apologise to Okpebholo over the publication.
Tugbiyele made the call in a now-trending video originally uploaded on Facebook while commenting on the political exchanges ahead of the Osun governorship election.
He said Davido should not have personally responded to Okpebholo’s comments about Adeleke.
Tugbiyele said, “I watched a video when Governor Okpebholo called the governor of my state, Adeleke, the dancing governor. And the governor’s relation, David Adeleke, replied by publishing the WAEC Secondary School leaving result of Governor Okpebholo, the governor of Edo State.”
According to him, although the alleged result might not have been impressive, it should not have been used to ridicule the governor.
He said, “The result is not good enough, but it’s possible. The governor did a resit. We are not aware of that, but I think Davido, David Adeleke’s publication is inappropriate.”
Tugbiyele argued that Adeleke could have responded to his Edo counterpart through official channels rather than allowing Davido to engage him.
Tugbiyele concluded by directly appealing to Davido, saying, “Davido, David Adeleke, please, as a proper Yoruba, please apologise to Governor Okpebholo. God bless you, David. God bless Nigeria.”
By Samuel Omotere
