By Folayimika Akanbi
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to proceed to the court immediately to vacate the order freezing the bank account of the Osun State government.
He also asked the anti-graft agency to discontinue any legal action it instituted against the government of the state.
EFCC had obtained a court order to freeze the bank accounts on the ground of suspicious transactions on account of the current electioneering period.
The order came while the state is preparing for its off-season gubernatorial election with the incumbent Governor Ademola Adeleke of Accord and Bola Oyebamiji of All Progressives Congress (APC) as major contenders.
However, Tinubu, in a statement on Thursday issued through his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, described the timing of the EFCC’s action as inauspicious.
The statement was titled “President Tinubu directs EFCC to vacate the court order freezing Osun government account.”
Tinubu said the timing of the agency’s action was deeply embarrassing to him.
He noted that obtaining a court order while the state governorship election closes in could be interpreted as if the government agencies were being used interfered in the poll.
“It has come to my notice that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) obtained a court order on August 5, 2026, freezing the accounts of the Osun State Government. I must state that I feel deeply embarrassed not by the EFCC’s exercise of its mandate backed by a court order, but by the timing of the agency’s action. This is so because every action taken by an institution of State, especially at the Federal level, is always credited to me, as the President, even when I may not have had any prior knowledge of the action.
“Since assuming office, I have consistently maintained that anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies must be allowed to discharge their statutory responsibilities independently, professionally, without fear or favour, or political interference. I have therefore deliberately refrained from directing or interfering in the operational activities of the EFCC or any other investigative or prosecutorial agency because I firmly believe that strong democratic institutions, operating within the confines of the law, are indispensable to democratic good governance and the rule of law.
“As President, I am committed to allowing institutions of State to function and take any action they consider necessary in the interest of proper governance without the need for any prior approval. Indeed, that is why institutions are set up by law with clearly defined powers. While I am yet to be fully apprised of the facts which informed the action of EFCC in approaching the court to obtain the said order freezing the Osun State Government account, I am not in the slightest doubt that the timing of the action of EFCC is inauspicious, and therefore I feel compelled to intervene.
“Osun State is only a few days away from its gubernatorial election. Therefore, nothing ought to be done to give an impression that the EFCC or indeed any other agency of the federal government is being used to interfere with the election.
“Based on the foregoing premise, I am duty-bound to issue a directive on this issue in consonance with the overriding public interest in preserving public confidence and the integrity, credibility, and fairness of our democratic process.
“Accordingly, I have directed the EFCC to immediately proceed to the court to vacate the order and discontinue whatever action it has instituted against the Osun State Government in this regard,” Tinubu said.
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