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President Bola Tinubu has ordered the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to take immediate steps to lift a court order freezing an account belonging to the Osun State Government, saying the timing of the action could create the wrong impression ahead of the state’s governorship election.
In a statement personally signed and released on Thursday, the President said he was concerned not with the EFCC’s legal authority to obtain the court order, but with when the action was taken.
“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,” Tinubu said.
He explained that his decision to intervene was necessary because actions taken by federal institutions are often viewed as reflecting his personal directives, whether or not he had prior knowledge of them.
“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.”
Tinubu reiterated that since assuming office in May 2023, he has deliberately avoided interfering in the work of anti-corruption agencies, insisting they should carry out their responsibilities independently and professionally.
“I have therefore deliberately refrained from directing or interfering in the operational activities of the EFCC or any other investigative or prosecutorial agency because I firmly believe that strong democratic institutions, operating within the confines of the law, are indispensable to democratic good governance and the rule of law,” the president wrote.
Although he said he had yet to receive the full details surrounding the case, Tinubu maintained that the timing of the EFCC’s action was inappropriate and warranted his intervention.
“The timing of the action of EFCC is inauspicious,” he said.
The President noted that with Osun State’s governorship election only days away, it was important to avoid any action that could undermine public confidence in the electoral process or suggest that federal institutions were being used for political purposes.
“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,” he said.
STATEHOUSE STATEMENT
PRESIDENT TINUBU DIRECTS EFCC TO VACATE THE COURT ORDER FREEZING OSUN GOVERNMENT ACCOUNT
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… pic.twitter.com/ncR6BYbk0a
— Bayo Onanuga, OON, CON (@aonanuga1956) August 6, 2026
