By Abdullahi Mukhtar Algasgaini
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to immediately vacate a court order freezing the accounts of the Osun State Government, citing concerns over the timing of the action just days before the state’s gubernatorial election.
The President issued the directive on Thursday, August 6, 2026, following the EFCC’s successful application for a court order on August 5, freezing the state government’s accounts.
In a statement from the State House, President Tinubu expressed deep embarrassment over the development, though he clarified that his discomfort was not with the EFCC’s statutory mandate but with the timing of the agency’s 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,” the President stated.
Tinubu emphasized his deliberate policy of non-interference in the operational activities of investigative and prosecutorial agencies, describing strong democratic institutions operating within the confines of the law as indispensable to good governance and the rule of law.
However, the President noted that while he had not been fully briefed on the facts that informed the EFCC’s decision to approach the court, the timing was “inauspicious,” warranting his 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,” Tinubu stated.
The President 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.”
The intervention comes as political tensions rise in Osun State ahead of the upcoming gubernatorial election, with opposition parties and civil society groups closely monitoring federal agencies’ activities in the state.
