…State Govt, ADC Accuse FG of Political Intimidation Ahead of Polls
By Yinka Giwa
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Wednesday broke its silence over the freezing of Osun State Government accounts, declaring that the action was part of an ongoing investigation into the alleged diversion of more than N11 billion in public funds and not a politically motivated move ahead of the August 15 governorship election.
The anti-graft agency said it placed a Post-No-Debit restriction on the state’s statutory allocation account after investigators detected what it described as “precipitate and unwarranted” transfers of large sums of money from government accounts into several suspicious corporate accounts.
But the Osun State Government and the opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC) rejected the explanation, accusing the Federal Government of weaponising anti-corruption institutions to cripple the administration of Governor Ademola Adeleke barely 10 days before voters head to the polls.
The EFCC, in a statement by its Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, disclosed that it had been investigating the Osun State Government since March 2026 over the alleged fraudulent handling of Ecology Funds, Intervention Funds and allocations from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) amounting to about N11 billion.
According to the Commission, the Accountant-General of the state and other officials have already been questioned as part of the investigation.
The agency explained that although the probe had been ongoing for months, it only moved to freeze the accounts after detecting unusual movements of public funds beginning on August 2.
“The Commission noticed huge transfers of funds into different corporate entities and had to swiftly halt the trend by freezing the accounts from which such heavy funds are being moved,” the EFCC stated.
It insisted that the decision had nothing to do with the forthcoming governorship election, stressing that its constitutional responsibility was to safeguard public resources.
“The Commission cannot watch idly while a state government’s account is being pillaged. While the Commission is fully aware of the impending governorship election in Osun State, it has a responsibility to act in defence of the sanctity of the funds of the state.”
The agency further disclosed that several other states are also under financial scrutiny, maintaining that its operations are non-partisan and driven solely by the need to promote accountability in the management of public funds.
“The Osun State Government account was frozen to save public funds from being looted,” the statement added.
Earlier on Wednesday, documents obtained by journalists showed that the EFCC had directed First Bank Plc to place a Post-No-Debit restriction on the Osun State Government’s statutory allocation account.
In a letter dated August 5, 2026, and signed by Assistant Commander of the EFCC, Adenike Babalola, on behalf of the Director of Investigation, the Commission cited provisions of the EFCC Establishment Act, 2004, and the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, as the legal basis for the action.
The account, reportedly used for the payment of workers’ salaries and other government obligations, was immediately restricted.
Reacting, Osun Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Oluwole Jimi-Bada, described the action as unlawful and vowed to challenge it in court.
He argued that the freezing of the account would cripple government activities and disrupt the delivery of essential public services.
“This step will affect government running, but we will challenge the move and ensure that the agency acts within the ambit of the law,” he said.
Commissioner for Finance, Sola Ogungbile, also alleged that police operatives stormed the main branch of First Bank in Osogbo and arrested some officials of the bank during the operation.
Governor Ademola Adeleke had earlier raised the alarm that the EFCC planned to freeze all accounts belonging to the state government and some senior officials in what he described as an attempt to paralyse governance before the election.
The governor, through the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, insisted there was no legal justification for the action and described it as “the height of lawlessness.”
According to the governor, the move was designed to cripple government operations and undermine the credibility of the forthcoming governorship election.
The controversy drew a sharp reaction from the African Democratic Congress (ADC), which accused the Federal Government of deploying federal institutions to intimidate opposition-controlled states.
In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the party described the freezing of Osun’s funds as “political terrorism” and alleged that the Tinubu administration was determined to weaken the Adeleke government before the election.
The ADC argued that the real victims of the action would be ordinary residents of the state whose salaries, healthcare services, education programmes and other grassroots projects depend on uninterrupted access to government funds.
“Political opponents are not enemy combatants. Opposition-controlled states are not occupied territories. Public institutions do not belong to whichever party temporarily controls the Federal Government,” Abdullahi said.
The party further accused federal authorities of encouraging what it described as a pattern of political intimidation through the continued occupation of local government councils by APC loyalists, alleged harassment of opposition figures and selective deployment of security agencies.
It warned that using public institutions to settle political scores threatened democratic governance and called for the immediate restoration of statutory allocations to Osun State and an end to what it termed federal interference in the state’s political affairs.
The latest confrontation has deepened political tensions in Osun, where the August 15 governorship election is expected to be one of the country’s most closely watched off-cycle polls, with both the Federal Government and the opposition trading accusations over the neutrality of security and anti-graft institutions.
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