President Bola Tinubu has informed Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke that he has directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to vacate the court order freezing the state government’s account.

The President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, disclosed this in a post on his official X handle on Thursday.

According to Onanuga, Tinubu conveyed the decision during a telephone conversation with Adeleke, following his earlier directive instructing the anti-graft agency to return to court and withdraw the order restricting access to the Osun State Government’s account.

“President Tinubu in a phone conversation with Governor Ademola Adeleke on Thursday informed him about his directive to the EFCC to lift the court order on the Osun State Government account,” Onanuga wrote.

The development comes hours after the President ordered the EFCC to discontinue the action against the Osun State Government, citing concerns over the timing of the court order, with the state’s governorship election only days away.

Tinubu acknowledged that the commission acted within its statutory powers by obtaining the order but said the timing could create the perception that federal institutions were being used to influence the electoral process.

He said preserving public confidence in the integrity and credibility of the election informed his decision.

The EFCC had secured a court order on August 5, 2026, freezing the Osun State Government’s account as part of an investigation into the alleged movement and handling of public funds.

In a statement, Tinubu said he was “deeply embarrassed” by the timing of the action, stressing that although he respected the operational independence of anti-corruption agencies, the development risked undermining confidence in the democratic process.

“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.

He reiterated that his administration had consistently allowed anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies to carry out their statutory responsibilities without political interference.

“Since assuming office, I have consistently maintained that anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies must be allowed to discharge their statutory responsibilities independently, professionally, without fear or favour, or political interference,” Tinubu said.

The President added that with the Osun governorship election approaching, no action should create the impression that the EFCC or any other federal agency was being used to interfere 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,” he said. (The Nation)

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