Just In:Tinubu Orders EFCC to Unfreeze Osun Accounts, Calls Adeleke to Explain Decision On Phone Call
By Aliyu Oyewole
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to lift the court order freezing the Osun State Government’s bank accounts and personally informed Governor Ademola Adeleke of the decision during a telephone conversation on Thursday.
The President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, disclosed the development in a post on his verified X account, stating that Tinubu called the Osun governor shortly after issuing the directive to the anti-graft agency.
According to Onanuga, the President informed Adeleke that he had ordered the EFCC to withdraw the court-backed freeze placed on the state’s accounts.
Earlier in a statement, Tinubu expressed embarrassment over the EFCC’s action, stressing that although the commission acted within its legal mandate by obtaining a court order, the timing of the move was inappropriate.
“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,” the President said.
Tinubu noted that actions taken by federal institutions are often attributed to his administration, even when they are carried out without his prior knowledge.
He reaffirmed his commitment to preserving the independence of government institutions, saying he would continue to allow agencies of government to perform their statutory responsibilities without political interference.
The President, however, explained that he had not yet received a full briefing on the circumstances that led the EFCC to seek the court order freezing Osun State’s accounts.
Despite this, he maintained that the timing of the action was “inauspicious,” making presidential intervention necessary.
The development comes amid heightened political attention over the freezing of the Osun State Government’s accounts, with the President’s intervention expected to ease tensions between the Federal Government and the Ademola Adeleke-led administration.
