By Mary Izuaka

 

President Bola Tinubu has directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to immediately proceed to the court to vacate order freezing the accounts of the Osun State government.

In a statement issued Thursday from the State House, the president said the timing of the EFCC’s action, obtained on August 5, 2026, was “inauspicious” coming just days to the Osun governorship election.

The EFCC had on Wednesday said it froze the Osun account as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged fraudulent handling of ecology funds, intervention funds and Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) allocations to the tune of N11 billion since March 2026.

The EFCC said these ongoing investigations of the state government would not have warranted any placement of Post No Debit order on its account.

Suspicious transfers’ prompted freeze

However, the EFCC said it was forced to act after it noticed “precipitate and unwarranted movement of funds” from the state government’s accounts to different suspicious accounts since August 2, 2026.

“The commission noticed huge transfers of funds into different corporate entities and had to swiftly halt the trend by freezing the accounts from which such heavy funds are being moved,” it said.

On Thursday, Mr Tinubu said he was deeply embarrassed not by the commission’s exercise of its mandate backed by a court order, but by the timing of the agency’s action.

“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,” Mr Tinubu said.

The president said since assuming office, he has 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,” he said.

Why the intervention now

Mr Tinubu said he was yet to be fully briefed on the facts that informed the EFCC’s decision to approach the court to obtain the freezing order.

However, he argued that with the Osun governorship election only “a few days away,” nothing should be done to create the impression that any agency of the federal government is being used to interfere with the election.

“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,” he said.

Directive to EFCC

“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, Mr Tinubu 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 Osun governorship election is scheduled to be held on Saturday, 15 August.