Davido says no one can beat him in free and fair election, rejects politics over corruption
Afrobeats singer David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, has claimed that no one can defeat him in a free and fair election in Nigeria if he chooses to seek political office. He added, however, that he has no interest in contesting any elective position under the current system because of what he described as the corrupt nature of Nigerian elections and the electoral body.
Speaking during a recent livestream with streamer Cater Efe, Davido said he would continue to focus on music until electoral transparency improves. When asked whether he would love to govern a state, he replied that he has no time for a system in which results are written. He stated that he is not the type to accept being cheated and remain silent.
“Let me just focus on my music until there is transparency then I can go ahead and contest for elective positions. Nobody can beat me in any election, never! In a free and fair election, I can win presidential election in Nigeria,” he said. “But because of the system, there is no transparency, they write results. I waiting to see what they will do in the upcoming Osun gubernatorial election. We are wailing.”
The comments place two assertions side by side. On one hand, Davido expresses confidence in his personal electoral appeal under clean conditions. On the other, he declines to test that appeal because he does not trust the process that would measure it. The reference to the Osun gubernatorial election frames the next major state poll as a practical indicator of whether the system has improved.
Public figures who command large followings occasionally float the possibility of political participation. Few do so while simultaneously declaring the existing electoral machinery unfit for purpose. Davido’s position is therefore less a declaration of intent and more a conditional statement: personal capacity exists, institutional conditions do not.
The structural issue he raises is familiar. Distrust in the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and in the broader process of result collation has featured in successive election cycles. Whether the Osun contest alters that perception will depend on the transparency of the process and the willingness of all parties to accept the outcome. Until then, Davido’s stated preference remains music rather than elective office.
