Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke has ordered the immediate withdrawal of the state’s lawsuit against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over the freezing of government accounts, following a direct intervention by President Bola Tinubu.
The governor disclosed this during an interview with Channels Television, just hours after he was declared winner of the August 15 governorship election.
“I’m putting them behind. What else do I want? I have instructed my attorney-general to drop it. Mr President has done well. He called me. What more do I want?” Adeleke stated.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1762/2026 and filed at the federal high court in Abuja on August 5, sought to nullify the EFCC’s account freeze order and claimed N2 billion in exemplary damages against the commission. The anti-graft agency had frozen the state’s statutory allocation account over alleged fraudulent handling of public funds.
Tinubu’s Intervention
President Tinubu had earlier directed the EFCC to immediately vacate the freeze order, expressing embarrassment over the development. The president noted that actions by federal agencies were often wrongly attributed to the presidency, even when he had no prior knowledge of them.
Adeleke echoed this sentiment, saying: “Most of these things, the president doesn’t know. The president has a lot of foreign work and jobs to do.”
Adeleke Alleges Political Motives, Points to Oyetola
While confirming that some of his aides and officials had been invited for questioning by the EFCC, Adeleke alleged the invitations were politically motivated. He said he had instructed his lawyers to assist those summoned, adding that some officials had already been released after questioning.
The governor went further, pointing accusing fingers at his predecessor, Gboyega Oyetola, who currently serves as minister of marine and blue economy.
“All these things is Oyetola because he is the cousin to the president. He is dropping the president’s name. I know that the president didn’t know about the EFCC one. That is why he had to call me and stop it,” Adeleke alleged.
Background
The Osun government had sued the EFCC on August 5 over the freezing of its statutory allocation account, seeking to nullify the directive and award N2 billion in damages.
The EFCC maintained the freeze was part of an investigation into the alleged fraudulent handling of funds by the state government.
With the suit now set to be withdrawn, the move signals a de-escalation in the standoff between the state government and the anti-graft agency, as Adeleke shifts focus toward his second-term agenda following his re-election victory.
