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 showing the governor’s alleged West African Examinations Council result.
Tugbiyele made the call in a video that has gained traction on social media while commenting on the political exchanges ahead of Saturday’s 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 criticised Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke over his frequent dancing.
Okpebholo made the remarks while campaigning for the All Progressives Congress candidate in the election, Bola Oyebamiji, also known as AMBO.
The Edo governor had mocked Adeleke’s leadership style, saying the Osun governor danced before carrying out routine activities.
Davido, who has been campaigning for Adeleke, subsequently posted the alleged WAEC result without a caption.
Reacting to the incident, Tugbiyele said Davido should not have responded directly to Okpebholo.
He said Adeleke should have replied to his Edo counterpart himself or through an official of his administration rather than allowing Davido to engage the governor.
According to the lawyer, while the alleged WAEC result might not have been impressive, it was inappropriate to use it to ridicule Okpebholo.
“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,” he said.
Tugbiyele also argued that Davido and Okpebholo hold different public positions and should not engage each other in the same manner.
“I think what Davido did is disrespectful and I will plead with him, he should exercise some humility and apologise,” he said.
The lawyer said he had seen photographs of Davido prostrating before elders and described the singer as a well-brought-up Yoruba man.
Tugbiyele rejected the suggestion that the exchange could be justified as part of political rivalry, arguing that political disagreements should not involve personal attacks or disrespect.
He also appealed to Davido’s elders to caution him and urged the singer to apologise to the Edo governor.
“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.
Tugbiyele further argued that a poor academic result should not be used to define a person, noting that people can overcome setbacks and succeed later in life.
He said his own experiences with disappointing results had not prevented him from progressing, adding that his father encouraged him rather than labelling him a failure.
The controversy comes amid intense political activity in Osun State ahead of the August 15 governorship election. Davido has publicly backed his uncle, Ademola Adeleke, in his bid for a second term.
