Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga has said the president personally informed Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun state, of his directive to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to lift the restriction placed on the state’s bank accounts.
According to Onanuga, Tinubu conveyed the decision during a telephone conversation with Adeleke on Thursday.
“President Tinubu in a phone conversation with Governor Ademola Adeleke on Thursday informed him about his directive to the EFCC to lift the court order on the Osun State Government account,” Onanuga wrote.
Earlier, Tinubu directed the anti-graft agency to immediately vacate the court order freezing the bank accounts of the Osun state government.
The president said although the anti-graft agency acted within its statutory powers by obtaining a court order, the timing of the action, days before the August 15 governorship election in Osun, was inappropriate.
“It has come to my notice that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) obtained a court order on August 5, 2026, freezing the accounts of the Osun State Government,” Tinubu said in a statement he personally signed.
The anti-graft agency did not mention that it obtained a court order to freeze Osun statutory account instead it relied on provisions of EFCC Establishment Act and the Money Laundering (Prevention & Prohibition) Act 2022.
Wilson Uwujaren, EFCC director of public affairs, said the restriction placed on the Osun account would remain in effect for 72 hours, after which the agency would approach the court for an order if it deemed it necessary.
Justifying its decision, the EFCC said it froze the state government’s bank accounts over the alleged fraudulent handling of funds.
The anti-graft agency said it had been investigating the government since March, adding that some officials, including the accountant-general, had been interviewed by its investigators.
The commission said it observed huge transfers from the accounts into different corporate entities since August 2 amid the probe.
But in a statement on Thursday, Kolapo Alimi, commissioner for information and public enlightenment, faulted the EFCC’s account, describing it as an attempt to cover up an illegal action through unfounded allegations.
