President Tinubu Directs EFCC to Vacate Court Order Freezing Osun State Accounts
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu held a phone conversation with Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke on Thursday, August 6, 2026, after ordering the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to vacate a court order freezing the state government’s bank accounts.
The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, disclosed the development on his official X handle, confirming that President Tinubu personally reached out to Governor Adeleke to inform him of the executive directive.
In an official statement released on Thursday, President Tinubu expressed deep embarrassment over the timing of the anti-graft agency’s enforcement action, which coincided with the final buildup to the state’s upcoming governorship election.
“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,” President Tinubu stated. “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.”
The President reiterated his commitment to allowing federal law enforcement and investigative bodies to discharge their statutory duties independently without executive interference. However, he noted that public confidence in democratic processes remains paramount, making presidential intervention necessary given the proximity of the election.
“While I am yet to be fully briefed on the facts which informed the action of EFCC in approaching the court to obtain the said order freezing the Osun State Government account, the timing of the EFCC action is inauspicious, hence the need for my intervention,” Tinubu added.
The directive mandates the EFCC to return to court immediately to discharge the freezing order and lift all restrictions previously imposed on the Osun State Government’s accounts.
