The director, Abuja School of Social and Political Thought, Dr Sam Amadi, has described the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s (EFCC) move to freeze the Osun State Government’s account as a politically motivated strategy by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to undermine the governor’s capacity ahead of the gubernatorial election.

“This was a test, and he couldn’t stand political pressure. It clearly was an APC strategy to close down the capacity of the Osun State Governor,” he said.

Dr Amadi said the development was an “own goal” for those behind the move, noting that the Presidency’s conflicting statements exposed the action as a failed gambit. He described the incident as a form of election interference, arguing that the initial announcement by the presidential handle was later contradicted by its expression of embarrassment over the development.

“Let’s put this in perspective. First, this was an own goal. They had to save face. The presidential handle announced the action taken by EFCC, and that same handle said it was embarrassed. So it doesn’t quite square up. This was a gambit that failed. As Mahmud said, it was election interference.”

Criticising the EFCC’s action, Amadi described it as unconstitutional and a failure of regulation, arguing that authorities cannot freeze a governor’s funds based on assumptions of future misconduct.

“It was unconstitutional and doesn’t make sense. It was a failure of regulation. The President needed to act to save face because there was a mass buildup,,” he maintained.

Dr Amadi further said the timing of the account freeze suggested that the move was intended to prevent the governor and his team from accessing funds ahead of the election.

He added that the President’s decision to halt the action could earn him political goodwill, particularly if the governor wins, as it may be perceived as an intervention that protected the electoral process. According to Amadi, the President ultimately made a calculated decision to end a situation that could have further damaged his political credibility and the quality of the election.

“Talking about political capital, the question is counterfactual. If he did not call off this move, the timing was intentional, not accidental. The timing is the election. So let us not create the impression that there could have been a different timing. The whole essence was to stop these guys from spending money for the election. If the President didn’t intervene, what would have been the political feedback for him? Probably the win, people would be clear that the intention was to achieve a result. The quality of this election matters for everybody.

“Does he get some goodwill from this? Yes, yesterday we had the chairman of the Accord Party on this program; he was very happy. I mean, the governor and his team will be relieved because, like it or not, they are better off. Somehow, people will get the impression that the President saved the day if they win, assuming they win. It goes back to political credibility for the President that he intervened when they complained. So that earns him some credit—better for him than if he had allowed it.

“The President smartly handled it. The ball was off the court, and he has returned it. It’s now a foul. He has to play the ball back. It wasn’t like the President was taken by surprise. The President knew the game; it was a game. But he wisely ended the game. Assuming the judge didn’t complain, assuming there was no fight back, then you wouldn’t have had this executive order. This is an extreme measure, and he said so—that he has to do this because the consequence of not doing this is bad for himself and for democracy.”

On the spate of kidnappings across the country, Amadi attributed the problem to weak local governance, widespread poverty and a lack of effective state protection. He said many communities had effectively become ungoverned and unprotected territories, while poor governance and declining public trust continued to create conditions for criminality to thrive. Although he acknowledged improvements in the military’s response, he called for stronger governance, public trust and a more focused security strategy.

“Because large parts of this country have been ungoverned for quite a long time. You see, if you travel across the country, this speaks to the failure of local governance. Politicians have not governed; that’s the truth about it. We are living in terrible times. You go to places where you have government presence, think about local police. Every time, I keep telling you, no more private policing, but every time the police are carrying handbags of wives, wives of sons, buyers, everyone. So basically, these are ungoverned, unprotected territories; that’s what it is, number one. Number two, there are also underlying issues around mass poverty and mass impoverishment. People are getting poorer. The governors claim they’ve got so much money, but it’s not reflecting; they are building war chests for elections and all that. So if you put all these social factors, you see that the push towards kidnapping and this criminality is very high.

“The military is perhaps regaining and getting better and better with this news, so there’s hope for that. But the key point here is that there should be an integration of war—that essentially, some fundamentals are missing. Part of it is morale, governance, public trust. So we are in a period of time where governance has failed in the most fundamental way,” he underscored.

Dr Amadi said improving security requires more than increasing military salaries, warning that years of poor governance had led to the overuse of the military in civilian affairs.

He called for a more strategic and systemic approach to security, including rebuilding professionalism, ethics, leadership and public confidence within the armed forces.

“Military-civilian relations are complex and very critical for sustaining democracy. We don’t want to wake up in the morning and hear anything alarming, so it’s in the best interest of political leaders to ensure the military is not restless. This is a good strategy to improve their salaries, especially for the rank and file who historically in West Africa are the ones that get more out of line.

“However, we need to address the over-concentration of military forces in civil affairs due to misgovernance over many years. We’ve been able to create a lot of insecurity factors that are self-multiplying, which is why the military is overused everywhere, leading to overexposure.

“Additionally, regarding strategy, if we’re not getting the job done, we need to be more strategic and systemic. Anyone who has interacted with retired generals can see that the level of battle-readiness seems lower now than what we had before. Corruption within the military-civilian or military-business complex runs so deep that you can’t vouch for top performance. Rebuilding the ethics, value system, strategic thinking, and leadership is necessary. When you look at leaders today, their demeanor doesn’t always suggest high professionalism and commitment. We need to inspire that confidence and leadership across the board because if governance and values fail, a pay rise is just an anesthetic.

ICPC Investigation into Alleged Fake Agency,” Dr Amadi said.

On the investigation of the alleged fake agency by the ICPC, Dr Amadi said the referral demonstrated due process but questioned whether the probe could ultimately serve as a cover-up. He called for the public disclosure of key meetings and depositions to establish how the agency was able to operate and identify those involved.

“Referring it for investigation shows proper process, but what if the ICPC’s work serves as a cover-up? They haven’t made their meetings public or shared depositions from key individuals. In every sense, the House of Representatives has done a better job. The excuses given by security heads for not appearing show that the original intent might have been a cover-up. This isn’t just about a fake agency; it’s about how the system collapsed to allow it. We need public depositions to understand who was involved.”

On the call for opposition parties to unite behind a single presidential candidate, Amadi said political defeats are never final and that changing dynamics could reshape the contest. He argued that opposition leaders would be better positioned to succeed by working together, adding that a movement built around key issues and consensus could strengthen Nigeria’s democracy by creating two strong and competitive political parties.

“Everything is possible in politics. Defeats are never final. It’s all about dynamics. While individuals can win presidences, they are better off together. If this new movement addresses core issues and builds consensus, the urgency and consequences of failing could mobilize leaders to get it done. It’s good for democracy to have two strong, working political parties,” he concluded. (Arise News)

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