Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, has distanced himself from comments circulating on social media linking him to remarks made in response to an appeal by music star David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, ahead of the August 15, 2026, Osun State governorship election.
In a statement issued on Thursday by his Chief Press Secretary and Special Adviser on Media, Oguwike Nwachuku, the governor said he neither authorised Ambrose Nwogwugwu nor any other individual to respond on his behalf to Davido’s appeal for a peaceful election in Osun State.
Davido, whose uncle, Governor Ademola Adeleke, is the Accord Party candidate in the election, had reportedly appealed to Uzodimma during a media briefing to use his position as Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum and Chairman of the APC Osun Governorship Campaign Council to ensure peace during the poll.
Responding to the development, Uzodimma described Davido as “his son” and stressed that he holds no ill feelings toward the singer.
“Davido remains my son,” the governor said. “My coming to Osun is solely because I am a committed member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and not one of the voters in the state’s governorship election.”
The governor explained that his presence in Osun would be in his capacity as leader of the APC campaign council and not as an elector, noting that he has no voting rights in the state.
“I am not an Osun voter,” Uzodimma said, adding that his role is to monitor the election for his party and canvass support for the APC candidate, Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji.
He maintained that the APC remains committed to peaceful, credible, free and fair elections and said there was nothing undemocratic about party leaders campaigning for their candidates.
“The APC has always canvassed for peaceful, credible, free and fair democratic contests. In the forthcoming Osun election, we will continue to appeal to the conscience of the electorate to support and vote for our party’s candidate,” he stated.
Uzodimma also dissociated himself from comments reportedly made by Nwogwugwu, who had described Davido’s appeal as “emotional blackmail” and advised the musician to direct his appeal to Osun voters instead.
The governor said those remarks reflected Nwogwugwu’s personal opinion and not the official position of either his office or the APC campaign council.
“I neither authorised Ambrose Nwogwugwu nor anyone else to speak on my behalf. Whatever personal opinion he expressed does not represent my position or that of the Campaign Council,” Uzodimma said.
He assured Davido that his respect for him and the people of Osun State remained unchanged.
“My respect for Davido and the good people of Osun State is not negotiable,” he added.
Uzodimma urged Davido, the people of Osun State and the general public to disregard the controversial comments, saying it had become necessary to clarify the situation to prevent what he described as attempts by mischief makers to misrepresent his position. #Securitynewsalert.com
