Senator Francis Fadahunsi has clarified comments made in a viral social media video, insisting that his call to “kill Accord” was a figurative appeal to defeat the party at the ballot box, not an incitement to violence.
The video shows the Osun East lawmaker speaking in Yoruba to All Progressives Congress (APC) supporters in Ilesa ahead of the 15 August governorship election. In the clip, Fadahunsi accuses Accord Party members of attacking APC loyalists, urges supporters to launch counter-attacks against Accord members, and dares onlookers to film and post his remarks online.
However, in a statement issued on Tuesday by his media office titled ‘Kill Osun Accord with Votes, Not Violence, Senator Fadahunsi Tells APC,’ the senator maintained that his remarks were strictly metaphorical. He stated that the comments were intended as “a call on supporters to overwhelmingly reject the Accord Party at the ballot box through lawful, peaceful and democratic means during the August 15 governorship election.”
He reaffirmed his commitment to a peaceful electoral process and denied encouraging physical attacks, intimidation, or violence against opposition supporters. He stressed that elections should be decided solely by democratic votes and urged party loyalists and the electorate to remain orderly. He also called on security agencies to act professionally and protect voters’ rights to vote without fear.
The clarification follows demands by Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke’s campaign team for Inspector-General of Police Olatunji Disu to investigate and take action over the senator’s remarks.
Fadahunsi’s media office appealed to the public not to misinterpret or distort his statement, concluding that “the will of the people, freely expressed through the ballot, must always prevail.”