By: Manoah Kikekon
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| Gov. Ademola Adeleke |
OSOGBO, NIGERIA – Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has challenged the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ola Olukoyede, to publicly justify the sudden freezing of the Osun State Government accounts.
Speaking to journalists at the Government House in Osogbo, an infuriated Governor Adeleke labeled the anti-graft agency's action as an egregious illegality designed to truncate democratic norms and paralyze governance in the state. The development comes just days before the fiercely contested August 15th governorship election.
According to the governor, the directive to freeze the state's accounts arrived via a bank notification on Wednesday morning, acting on instructions from the EFCC. Governor Adeleke maintained that the anti-graft agency bypassed due process by executing the order without obtaining a valid court order.
Linking the move to desperate political machinations, Adeleke alleged that the clampdown was orchestrated at the behest of political opponents over an election they fear they cannot win.
"All these intimidation and attacks were carried out on the order of Gboyega Oyetola over an election his candidate cannot win," Governor Adeleke declared.
"This action was taken without any court order. We are supposed to be in a democracy, where the Rule of Law must always prevail. We will therefore not accept a situation where federal agencies trample on the constitutional rights of subnational governments."
The governor further warned that keeping silent in the face of such actions would completely erode the remnants of Nigeria's democracy. He demanded immediate transparency from the EFCC leadership:
"All I ask is for the EFCC chairman to explain to the good people of Osun State and to Nigerians in general why he froze Osun State Government Account, and show proof to support whatever reason he presents. This and all other illegalities being visited on Osun State are turning our democracy into a huge joke."
Corroborating the governor's stance, the Osun State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Oluwole Jimi-Bada (SAN), announced that he had received explicit instructions to challenge the EFCC's directive at the Federal High Court in Osogbo.
Jimi-Bada explained that a 'Post No Debit' instruction was served to First Bank, where the state accounts are domiciled. While acknowledging the EFCC's statutory right to investigate, the Commissioner emphasized that freezing accounts arbitrarily without a court order is a gross violation of legal boundaries that threatens to stall vital state operations.
"I have the mandate of the governor to proceed to the Federal High Court to challenge this move. EFCC can investigate the accounts, but it can’t freeze the accounts without an order of court," Jimi-Bada stated.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner for Finance, Sola Ogungbile, added to the state's grievances, alleging that security operatives had stormed the main branch of First Bank in Osogbo and harassed bank staff. He stressed that state funds were not being diverted for re-election campaigns, urging the anti-graft commission to weigh the humanitarian and administrative fallout of halting a state government's financial engine.
As legal teams prepare for an intense showdown at the Federal High Court, the political atmosphere in Osun State remains highly charged with the August 15th election rapidly approaching.