PRESIDENT TINUBU ORDERS EFCC TO VACATE COURT ORDER FREEZING OSUN ACCOUNTS

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to immediately vacate a court order freezing the bank accounts of the Osun State Government, describing the timing of the action as inappropriate ahead of the state’s governorship election.

In a statement issued from the State House on Thursday, the President said although he remained committed to allowing anti-corruption agencies to operate independently, the commission’s decision to obtain the court order at a politically sensitive period could create the impression of federal interference in the electoral process.

President Tinubu said he was not embarrassed by the EFCC’s exercise of its statutory mandate or the court order itself but by the timing of the action, noting that decisions taken by federal institutions were often attributed to him, even when he had no prior knowledge of them.

The President reiterated that since assuming office, he had deliberately refrained from interfering in the operations of the EFCC and other law enforcement agencies, insisting that democratic institutions must be allowed to function independently within the ambit of the law.

He, however, stated that while he was yet to be fully briefed on the circumstances that led the commission to seek the court order, the proximity of the Osun governorship election made the action ill-timed.

According to him, no action should be taken that could give the impression that the EFCC or any other federal agency is being used to influence or interfere with the electoral process.

Tinubu said that in the overriding public interest and to preserve public confidence in the credibility and fairness of Nigeria’s democracy, he had directed the anti-graft agency to immediately return to court to vacate the order and discontinue all related actions against the Osun State Government.

The President reaffirmed his commitment to the rule of law, good governance, and the independence of public institutions while stressing the need to protect the integrity of the country’s democratic process.