Lawyer urges Davido to apologise to Edo governor over WAEC result post
A legal practitioner and author, Timothy Tugbiyele, has urged Afrobeats singer David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, to apologise to Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, over a social media post displaying the governor’s alleged West African Examinations Council result.
Tugbiyele made the call in a video shared on Facebook on Monday while commenting on the political exchanges surrounding the August 15 Osun State governorship election.
The controversy began after Okpebholo criticised Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke’s dancing and leadership style while campaigning for the All Progressives Congress candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, popularly known as AMBO.
Okpebholo had mocked Adeleke, saying the governor was known for dancing before carrying out routine activities.
In response, Davido, who has been actively supporting his uncle’s re-election bid, shared what appeared to be Okpebholo’s WAEC result on his Instagram Story on Friday without a caption.
Reacting to the post, Tugbiyele described Davido’s response as inappropriate, arguing that Adeleke should have responded to his Edo counterpart through official channels rather than allowing the singer to engage him.
He said the alleged WAEC result, regardless of its quality, should not have been used to ridicule the governor.
According to Tugbiyele, “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.”
The lawyer maintained that Davido and Okpebholo occupy different positions and should not have engaged each other in the manner they did.
He said, “Governor Adeleke, Ademola Adeleke, would have replied his contemporary governor, or caused one of his workers, maybe a commissioner of information or a special assistant, to reply. Not Davido.”
Tugbiyele further described Davido’s action as disrespectful and appealed to the singer to apologise to Okpebholo.
“I think what Davido did is disrespectful and I will plead with him, he should exercise some humility and apologise,” he said.
The lawyer recalled seeing photographs of Davido showing respect to elders and urged him to maintain the same values despite the ongoing political rivalry.
He also rejected the argument that political competition justified the exchange, stressing that political disagreements should not degenerate into personal attacks or disrespect.
“I have heard it said by one of the political leaders that everything is fair in politics. No, when you are fighting below the belt, when you are insulting, when you disrespect elders, that is not fair in politics,” Tugbiyele said.
He added that Davido’s elders should caution him, noting that Okpebholo’s earlier comments did not justify an “eye for an eye” response.
Tugbiyele also argued that a person’s academic performance at one point in life should not be used to define their entire life or career, noting that Okpebholo is now a state governor.
“Politics does not really have to go to that extent,” he said.
The lawyer concluded with a direct appeal to the singer: “Davido, David Adeleke, please, as a proper Yoruba, please apologise to Governor Okpebholo. God bless you, David. God bless Nigeria.”
The controversy comes amid heightened political activities ahead of the Osun governorship election, with Davido openly backing Adeleke’s bid for a second term.
