Tinubu Informs Adeleke Of Order To EFCC to Vacate Account Freeze

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Thursday informed Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke that he had directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to take immediate steps to vacate a court order freezing the accounts of the Osun State Government.

The President conveyed the decision during a telephone conversation with the governor, saying he had instructed the anti-graft agency to return to court to vacate the order and discontinue the action it instituted against the state.

In a personally signed statement issued earlier Tinubu said he was “deeply embarrassed” by the timing of the EFCC’s action, stressing that although the Commission acted pursuant to a court order, actions taken by federal institutions are often attributed to the President.

“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. 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,” he said.

The President reiterated that since assuming office, he has consistently maintained that anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies must be allowed to discharge their statutory responsibilities independently, professionally and without fear, favour or political interference.

He said he had deliberately refrained from directing or interfering in the operational activities of the EFCC and other investigative or prosecutorial agencies because he believes strong democratic institutions operating within the law are indispensable to democratic governance and the rule of law.

Tinubu, however, said that while he was yet to be fully apprised of the facts that informed the EFCC’s decision to obtain the court order, he had no doubt that the timing of the action was “inauspicious.”

Noting that Osun State is only a few days away from its governorship election, the President said nothing should be done to create the impression that the EFCC or any other federal agency was being used to interfere with the poll.

“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,” Tinubu said.

He therefore directed the EFCC to immediately proceed to court to vacate the order freezing the Osun State Government’s accounts and discontinue whatever action it had instituted against the state in the matter.

The President said the directive was issued in the overriding public interest and to preserve public confidence in the integrity, credibility and fairness of Nigeria’s democratic process.