A legal practitioner and author, Timothy Tugbiyele, has called on Afrobeats singer David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, to apologise to Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, over his social media post displaying the governor’s alleged West African Examinations Council result.
Tugbiyele made the call in a now-trending video originally uploaded on Facebook on Monday while commenting on the ongoing political exchanges ahead of the August 15 Osun State governorship election.
Davido had shared what appeared to be Okpebholo’s WAEC result on his Instagram Story on Friday, shortly after the Edo governor mocked Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke over his penchant for dancing.
Okpebholo had criticised Adeleke’s leadership style while campaigning for the All Progressives Congress candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, popularly known as AMBO.
The Edo governor said, “Before somebody signs paper, he will dance. Are you not tired? For four years, this man has been dancing. Before he takes breakfast, before he drinks tea, he will dance.”
Davido, who has been actively campaigning for his uncle, subsequently shared the alleged WAEC result of Okpebholo without a caption.
Reacting to the development, Tugbiyele said Davido should not have responded personally to the governor’s remarks.
He said, “I watched a video when Governor Okpebholo called the governor of my state, Adeleke, the dancing governor. And the governor’s relation, David Adeleke, replied by publishing the WAEC Secondary School leaving result of Governor Okpebholo, the governor of Edo State.”
According to the lawyer, although Okpebholo’s alleged result may not have been impressive, it should not have been used to ridicule him.
He said, “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.”
Tugbiyele argued that Adeleke could have responded to his Edo counterpart through official channels instead of allowing Davido to engage him.
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, David Adeleke.”
The lawyer also stressed that Davido and Okpebholo occupy different positions and should therefore not engage each other on the same level.
He said, “David Adeleke and the governor of the state, they are not in the same social class. They are not of the same status. They are not in the same class.”
Tugbiyele described Davido’s post as disrespectful and appealed to the singer to apologise.
“I think what Davido did is disrespectful and I will plead with him, he should exercise some humility and apologise,” he said.
He recalled seeing photographs of Davido prostrating before elders, describing him as a well-brought-up Yoruba man.
“I’ve seen his pictures in time past, prostrating. He’s a properly well-brought-up Yoruba boy,” the lawyer said.
Tugbiyele also rejected the argument that the exchange should simply be viewed as part of political rivalry.
He said, “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.”
He urged older people and Davido’s elders to caution him, adding that political disagreements should not become personal attacks.
“You do not disrespect elders. He should apologise to Okpebholo. I’m not saying what Okpebholo did is right, to disrespect his uncle, but it should not be an eye for an eye,” he said.
The lawyer further argued that poor academic performance at one stage of a person’s life should not be used to define the individual.
Using his own experience, Tugbiyele said he had also obtained results that were not good enough but was encouraged by his father.
“I’ve had results that are not, I mean, results not good enough. But one of the things that has kept me going is that I had a father who never called me a dullard. He continued to encourage me,” he said.
He added, “So, oh, Governor Okpebholo had a result that was not good enough. He’s governor today. All of that, the bad result is in the past. Politics does not really have to go to that extent.”
Tugbiyele concluded by directly appealing to the singer, saying, “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 activity in Osun State ahead of Saturday’s governorship election, with Davido openly supporting Adeleke’s bid for a second term.