President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to immediately approach the court to vacate the order freezing the accounts of the Osun State Government and to discontinue all actions instituted against the state in that regard.
In a Statehouse statement issued on August 6, 2026, the President said he was informed that the EFCC obtained the court order on August 5, 2026. He said he was not embarrassed by the Commission’s exercise of its mandate backed by a court order, but by the timing of the action.
“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,” President Tinubu stated.
The President reiterated his administration’s policy of non-interference in anti-corruption and law enforcement operations. He said since assuming office, he has maintained that agencies must discharge their statutory responsibilities independently, professionally, and without fear or favour or political interference.
“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,” he said.
President Tinubu noted that while he is yet to be fully briefed on the facts that informed the EFCC’s application for the freezing order, he considers the timing inauspicious.
“While I am yet to be fully apprised of the facts which informed the action of EFCC in approaching the court to obtain the said order freezing the Osun State Government account, I am not in the slightest doubt that the timing of the action of EFCC is inauspicious, and therefore I feel compelled to intervene,” he said.
He cited the proximity of the Osun State gubernatorial election as the reason for his intervention, warning against any perception of federal interference in the electoral process.
“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,” the President said.
“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.”
The EFCC is yet to publicly respond to the directive.
The Osun governorship election is scheduled for this week.
