Thursday, August 6, 2026 President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to immediately approach the court to vacate the order freezing the *Osun State Government’s accounts.
In a statement issued from Aso Rock Villa on Thursday, the President said he was “deeply embarrassed” not by the EFCC’s exercise of its mandate, but by the timing of the action coming days before Osun’s governorship election.
“It has come to my notice that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission obtained a court order on August 5, 2026, freezing the accounts of the Osun State Government,” Tinubu stated.
The President said he has consistently allowed anti-corruption agencies to operate independently and without political interference since assuming office. However, he noted that actions by federal institutions are often credited to the Presidency even without prior knowledge.
“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… 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.
Tinubu stressed that “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,” with Osun’s gubernatorial poll only days away.
“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 President added.
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.
The President reaffirmed his commitment to strong democratic institutions that operate within the law, and said such institutions are indispensable to good governance and the rule of law._Signed:_ President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR Aso Rock Villa, Abuja
