President Bola Tinubu has ordered the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to remove the restriction placed on an Osun State Government bank account, saying the move came at the wrong time with the state’s governorship election just days away.
The president announced the directive in a personally signed statement on Thursday, expressing concern that the anti-graft agency’s action could create the impression that the Federal Government was attempting to influence the 15 August governorship election.
Tinubu said while he respected the EFCC’s legal responsibilities, he found the timing of the account freeze troubling.
“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. This is so because every action taken by an institution of State, especially at the Federal level, is always credited to me, as the President, even when I may not have had any prior knowledge of the action,” he said.
The president noted that he normally allows the EFCC and other investigative agencies to carry out their duties independently but said the circumstances surrounding the Osun election required his intervention.
“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.
“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 added.
The EFCC had restricted the state’s account on Wednesday, alleging that N11 billion from ecology funds, social intervention funds and federal allocations was fraudulently managed. According to the commission, the restriction was intended to stop the transfer of the funds into other suspicious accounts.
The president’s order came only hours after the EFCC defended its decision to impose the restriction without first securing a court order.
