President Bola Tinubu directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to vacate a court order freezing Osun State Government accounts on Thursday.
The president acted after the agency secured the order on August 5, 2026. The move came just days before the state’s governorship election. Tinubu issued a personally signed statement explaining his intervention.
Tinubu stated that he learned of the freeze. He said: “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.”
Tinubu noted that he had not yet received full details of the facts behind the order. Nevertheless, he described the timing as inauspicious. He said Osun State stood only a few days from its gubernatorial election.
The president stressed the need to avoid any impression of interference. He said: “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 continued: “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.”
Tinubu then directed the commission to act at once. He 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.”
Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy Bayo Onanuga later confirmed further steps. He said Tinubu spoke by phone with Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke. During the conversation, the president informed the governor of the directive to lift the freeze.
The development followed earlier complaints from the state government about restricted access to an account used for workers’ salaries.
