President Bola Tinubu has ordered the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to immediately return to court and vacate the order freezing the accounts of the Osun State Government.
The dramatic intervention came just days before the Osun governorship election, with the President warning that the timing of the EFCC action could create the impression that a federal agency was being used to interfere with the electoral process.
Tinubu said he was not questioning the anti-graft agency’s constitutional and statutory powers, but admitted that he was “deeply embarrassed” by the timing of the move.
The EFCC had obtained a court order on August 5, 2026, restricting access to the state government’s accounts as part of an investigation into alleged financial infractions.
But in a statement issued by the State House on Thursday, Tinubu said the action had become a matter of serious concern because Osun was only days away from its governorship election.
The President said actions by federal institutions were often automatically attributed to him, even when he had no prior knowledge of them.
He stressed that since assuming office, he had deliberately refused to interfere with the operational activities of the EFCC and other anti-corruption and law-enforcement agencies, insisting that they must be allowed to work independently and professionally.
Tinubu, however, said the circumstances surrounding the Osun account freeze compelled him to intervene.
According to him, he had not been fully briefed on the facts that led the EFCC to approach the court, but he was convinced that the timing was inappropriate.
ELECTION DAYS AWAY!
The President said Osun State was only a few days away from going to the polls and that nothing should be done to create suspicion that the federal government or any of its agencies was attempting to influence the election.
He said preserving public confidence in the electoral process was more important at the moment.
Tinubu therefore directed the EFCC to immediately return to court, vacate the freezing order and discontinue the action against the Osun State Government.
The directive follows a bitter confrontation between the Osun Government and the anti-graft agency over the frozen accounts.
The EFCC had linked the action to its investigation of alleged financial misconduct involving the state government, while the Osun administration rejected the allegations and accused the commission of trying to justify its decision to restrict the accounts.
The state government had also denied allegations involving about N11 billion, insisting that it had committed no financial offence warranting the action.
The EFCC, for its part, maintained that its investigation was lawful and politically neutral, stressing that investigating and prosecuting suspected financial crimes falls squarely within its mandate.
But with the governorship election looming, Tinubu has now stepped into the explosive dispute, ordering the anti-graft agency to back down from the account freeze.
The President said the decision was taken in the overriding public interest and to protect the integrity, credibility and fairness of Nigeria’s democratic process.
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