The All Progressives Congress and the Accord Party allegedly deployed more than N100bn for the August 15 governorship election in Osun State, with the funds reportedly used for campaign activities, voter inducements, party agents, canvassers, security personnel and electoral officials.

Investigations by Saturday PUNCH indicate that the estimated expenditure substantially exceeded the N3bn statutory limit for governorship candidates under the Electoral Act 2026.

The election was won by incumbent Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party, who secured 511,067 votes, defeating the APC candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, who polled 444,815 votes.

Millions Spent on Party Agents

The two major parties reportedly spent hundreds of millions of naira on agents deployed across Osun's 3,763 polling units.

Each APC polling-unit agent was allegedly paid N100,000, while Accord agents received N20,000. Accord also reportedly paid N20,000 each to agents from four other parties—the Nigeria Democratic Congress, New Nigeria Peoples Party, Allied Peoples Movement and All Progressives Grand Alliance—bringing its reported payment per polling unit to N100,000.

Based on the number of polling units, the combined expenditure by APC and Accord on polling-unit agents was estimated at N752.6m.

The African Democratic Congress also reportedly paid N30,000 to some of its agents, although the party's payments did not cover all polling units, making its total expenditure difficult to establish.

APC ward collation officers were reportedly paid N120,000 each across the state's 332 wards, amounting to N39.84m.

Security Spending

Security personnel deployed to polling units were also reportedly paid by the political parties.

According to sources involved in the election, police, civil defence and Federal Road Safety Corps personnel at each polling unit received N100,000 from APC, N80,000 from Accord and an additional N50,000 from the state government.

The combined amount attributed to security personnel across the 3,763 polling units was estimated at N865.49m.

In addition, senior police officers were allegedly paid N2m each by APC, amounting to about N62m across the state's 30 local government areas and area office.

The amount reportedly paid by Accord to senior security officials could not be established.

Billions Allegedly Spent on Vote Buying

Vote buying accounted for a significant portion of the alleged expenditure by the two parties.

Findings indicated that APC's initial vote-buying allocation was N40,000 per targeted voter. Party sources claimed that substantial sums were distributed across local governments, with some areas allegedly receiving between N80m and N500m.

The reported APC strategy targeted about 150 voters per polling unit, with payments structured at different stages before and during election day.

Based on the reported figures, APC's alleged expenditure on vote buying was estimated at N22.578bn.

The party also reportedly deployed 30 canvassers to each polling unit, paying each N10,000. That translated to an estimated N1.1289bn across the 3,763 polling units.

Accord was similarly reported to have targeted an average of 150 voters per polling unit, with N20,000 allocated per voter.

That calculation would amount to N3m per polling unit and approximately N11.289bn across all polling units.

The party also reportedly paid 30 canvassers per polling unit N10,000 each, resulting in an estimated N1.1289bn.

Some voters were reportedly offered significantly higher sums in individual polling units, with payments allegedly reaching N70,000 and N80,000 in some locations.

Electoral Officials Also Allegedly Received Payments

The political parties were also accused of making payments to electoral officials deployed across the state.

Sources said APC and Accord paid between N150,000 and N300,000 to electoral teams at polling units.

An APC source put the party's minimum expenditure on electoral and security personnel at N400,000 per polling unit, comprising N300,000 for electoral officials and N100,000 for security personnel.

If the reported N300,000 payment to electoral officials is applied across all 3,763 polling units, the figure amounts to approximately N1.1289bn.

Accord was also reported to have provided financial inducements to electoral personnel, although the precise amount could not be independently established.

APC Allegedly Raised Additional N36bn

Beyond direct expenditure at polling units, an APC source claimed that about N36bn was raised by governors, ministers, senators and other supporters for the party's election campaign.

The source said the funds were separate from money allegedly provided through other political and government channels.

Another member of the party's security and mobilisation committee claimed that between N4m and N5m was deployed to each polling unit for election-related operations.

The total figures could not be independently verified in full.

Electoral Act Sets N3bn Spending Limit

Section 92(2) of the Electoral Act 2026 sets the maximum election expenditure for a governorship candidate at N3bn.

The reported spending by APC and Accord, if established, would therefore represent a substantial breach of the statutory limit.

Executive Director of Yiaga Africa, Samson Itodo, called for investigation and prosecution where evidence establishes violations of the electoral law. He also raised concerns about the scale of alleged vote buying and voter inducement during the election.

Conflicting Claims Over Election Spending

The huge sums allegedly spent during the election have generated competing claims from political actors.

Billionaire businessman Deji Adeleke, the governor's elder brother, previously alleged that APC spent more than N60bn on the election.

Musician David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, also claimed that APC's spending was significantly higher, with figures reaching N110bn.

The spokesperson for the Ademola Adeleke Governorship Campaign Council, Pelumi Olajengbesi, similarly alleged that about N110bn was brought into Osun in two tranches.

APC's Osun State spokesperson, Kola Olabisi, rejected the allegations, describing them as unsubstantiated and challenging those making the claims to provide evidence.

Meanwhile, former Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose alleged that Accord spent at least N40bn on the election, citing alleged disbursements to local governments and wards.

The allegation was denied by Olajengbesi, who maintained that Accord did not distribute money or buy votes and attributed Adeleke's victory to popular support.

With the competing claims and allegations yet to be fully independently established, the reported expenditure underscores the enormous financial resources allegedly deployed by political actors during the Osun governorship election and raises fresh questions about compliance with Nigeria's campaign-finance regulations.