President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has delivered a stunning rebuke to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), directing the anti-graft agency to immediately return to court and vacate its order freezing the accounts of the Osun State Government. In a personally signed statement on Thursday, the President declared himself “deeply embarrassed” – not by the EFCC’s legal mandate, but by the timing of the action, coming just days before Osun’s August 15 governorship election.
Tinubu noted that every action by a federal institution is “credited to me, as the President”, and warned that the freeze could create the impression of federal interference in the poll. “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… is being used to interfere,” he stated.
The EFCC had secured the court order on August 5 over alleged ₦11 billion financial misconduct, sparking widespread backlash. Governor Ademola Adeleke had condemned the move as “unconstitutional” and a threat to democracy, while the Nigerian Bar Association insisted the EFCC lacked power to act without judicial approval. Opposition parties accused the agency of political manipulation ahead of the poll.
Tinubu, however, overruled his own agency, directing it to “discontinue whatever action it has instituted” against Osun. The dramatic reversal raises serious questions about the EFCC’s independence and the politicisation of anti-corruption efforts in the heat of election season.