ABUJA — President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to immediately approach the court and vacate an order freezing the bank accounts of the Osun State Government, expressing deep embarrassment over the timing of the anti-graft agency’s action days ahead of the state’s gubernatorial election.
In a personally signed presidential statement issued on Thursday, August 6, 2026, President Tinubu distance himself from the decision, noting that while the EFCC acted within its legal mandate backed by a court order obtained on August 5, the timing was “inauspicious” and risked giving a false impression of political interference by the Federal Government.
“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,” the statement read. “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.”
Reaffirming his commitment to institutional independence and non-interference in anti-corruption operations, the President stressed that the integrity of the electoral process necessitated an immediate intervention.
“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,” President Tinubu stated. “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.”
The development follows mounting tension in Osun State, where Governor Ademola Adeleke and state officials had strongly criticized the account restrictions as politically motivated, setting up a major flashpoint ahead of the August 15 governorship poll.
