Timing Is Wrong: Tinubu Orders EFCC To Vacate Freeze On Osun Govt Accounts Days To Election
President Bola Tinubu has ordered the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to immediately return to court and vacate the order freezing Osun State Government’s accounts, saying the action came at the wrong time with the governorship election days away.
In a statement issued by the State House on Thursday, Tinubu said he was not against the EFCC exercising its mandate, but was concerned about when it was done.
“It has come to my notice that the 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*,” the President said.
The EFCC had obtained the order as part of its investigation into alleged financial infractions involving the Osun State Government. The commission said it had authority to freeze accounts for 72 hours without a court order and was investigating alleged misappropriation of *N11bn*.
Osun Government dismissed the claims and accused the EFCC of trying to justify its action.
Tinubu said actions by federal institutions are often credited to him as President, “even when I may not have had any prior knowledge of the action.”
He stressed that since assuming office he has allowed anti-corruption agencies to operate independently.
“I have therefore deliberately refrained from directing or interfering in the operational activities of the EFCC… because I firmly believe that strong democratic institutions… are indispensable to democratic good governance,” he stated.
However, he said the proximity of the election made intervention necessary.
“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,” Tinubu added.
“While I am yet to be fully apprised of the facts which informed the action of EFCC… I am not in the slightest doubt that the timing of the action of EFCC is inauspicious, and therefore I feel compelled to intervene,” the President said.
“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.”
He said the directive was issued in the “overriding public interest” to preserve *public confidence and the integrity, credibility, and fairness of our democratic process*.
The directive comes as Osun prepares for its *August 15, 2026 governorship election*.
Governor *Ademola Adeleke* is seeking re-election amid heightened scrutiny of federal actions and their possible impact on the poll.
The EFCC had earlier insisted its investigation was not politically motivated.
