Kassim Afegbua describes the singer’s appeal to the US president over the Osun election as “arrant nonsense” and defends Governor Okpebholo’s involvement in APC campaign activities.

The Edo State Government has fired back at Afrobeat star David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, over his appeal to United States President Donald Trump to pay attention to the August 15 Osun State governorship election.

The Edo State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Prince Kassim Afegbua, dismissed Davido’s intervention as unnecessary, saying the singer should concentrate on his music career rather than attempt to draw the attention of the US president to Nigeria’s electoral process.

Afegbua made the remarks on Thursday during a press briefing in Benin City, Edo State.

His comments followed Davido’s recent appeal to Trump and the international community to closely monitor the Osun election amid concerns about possible violence, intimidation and disruption of voting.

Davido, in a statement shared online, urged the US president to take note of developments in Osun as voters prepare to elect their next governor.

“President Donald Trump, I am calling your attention to the situation in Osun State, Nigeria, as we approach the election,” the singer wrote.

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“There are growing concerns about tension and the possibility of violence, intimidation, or disruption of the democratic process.”

He also called on the United States and the international community to encourage Nigerian authorities to protect voters and ensure that their votes are respected.

The intervention has, however, drawn a sharp response from Afegbua, who accused the singer of becoming more interested in politics than music.

According to the commissioner, Davido should be in the studio producing songs capable of earning him a Grammy rather than threatening to involve the American president in Nigeria’s domestic political affairs.

“Davido, who should be in the studio to record good music, has become a politician,” Afegbua said.

He described the singer’s appeal to Trump as “arrant nonsense”, arguing that political participation and solidarity with party members were legitimate aspects of democratic activity.

Afegbua was particularly critical of concerns surrounding Edo State Governor Monday Okpebholo’s decision to campaign for the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate ahead of the Osun election.

The commissioner said political leaders were entitled to support their party’s candidates and urged voters in Osun to choose what he described as “serious-minded people”.

“We need to show solidarity to party members and party candidates. We are happy to see the APC candidate win on Saturday,” he said.

Afegbua also sought to dismiss a purported academic result attributed to Governor Okpebholo that had circulated online.

He described the document as fake and claimed to have seen what he called the governor’s authentic result.

“The result posted online is fake. I have seen the Governor’s authentic result with which he had a Master’s degree,” he said.

The commissioner then made a personal reference to Davido’s academic background, saying, “Adeleke got F9 in his result,” while apparently comparing the singer's record with that of the governor.

Afegbua also mocked the description of the Adeleke political family in relation to Governor Ademola Adeleke, who is seeking re-election in Osun, saying there was “no harm in having a dancer as a Governor.”

“Is he not a dancer? We are looking for votes from Osun. We are telling them to vote for serious-minded people,” he said.

The remarks add another layer to the increasingly heated political atmosphere surrounding Saturday’s Osun governorship election, which has attracted considerable attention both within Nigeria and internationally.

Davido’s intervention has also placed the singer, whose family is closely associated with Osun politics, at the centre of the political conversation ahead of the poll.

Afegbua, however, insisted that governance should be treated as serious business and maintained that political disagreements should not be used as a basis for involving foreign leaders in Nigeria’s internal democratic affairs.

“The fact is that Adeleke is a dancer. Governance is serious business,” he said.

The Osun governorship election is scheduled for Saturday, August 15, with voters expected to choose between the leading candidates amid heightened political competition and calls for a peaceful and credible electoral process.