Tinubu Orders EFCC to Lift Freeze on Osun Government Account

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has intervened in a controversial move by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), ordering the immediate lifting of a freeze on an Osun State Government bank account. The President personally signed a statement on Thursday, August 6, expressing his profound embarrassment over the timing of the EFCC's action. He characterized the freeze, imposed just 10 days before the crucial Osun State governorship election, as a move that could be perceived as politically motivated.

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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.

The EFCC had requested First Bank to freeze the account belonging to the Osun State Government earlier in the week. This action occurred ahead of the August 15 election, where Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party is set to compete against Bola Oyebamiji, the candidate representing President Tinubu's All Progressives Congress party. The timing immediately drew widespread criticism, with many viewing it as an attempt to disrupt the incumbent governor's administration ahead of the polls.

President Tinubu acknowledged that while he generally refrains from interfering with the operational activities of investigative agencies like the EFCC, he felt compelled to act in this instance. He stated that any action taken by federal institutions is often credited to him as President, even without his prior knowledge. The President noted that he learned the EFCC had obtained a court order on August 5 to freeze the account, although this contradicted the EFCC's public statements and a viral communication from the agency that did not cite a court order. Regardless of the procedural details, Tinubu emphasized that such actions could erode public confidence in the electoral process.

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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.

"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," Mr. Tinubu wrote in his statement. He stressed that "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." Consequently, he declared himself "duty-bound to issue a directive on this issue in consonance with the overriding public interest in preserving the integrity of the electoral process."

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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.