President Bola Tinubu on Thursday held a telephone conversation with Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke shortly after directing the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to lift the court order freezing the Osun State Government’s bank account.

The development was disclosed by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, in a post on his official 𝕏 handle. According to Onanuga, President Tinubu personally informed Governor Adeleke of his directive to the EFCC to vacate the court order and discontinue the action against the state’s account.

‘I’m Embarrassed’ – Tinubu Orders EFCC To Vacate Freezing Of Osun Govt Acount

“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 on Thursday, President Tinubu had announced that he ordered the anti-graft agency to return to court and seek the withdrawal of the freezing order, saying although the EFCC acted within its legal mandate after obtaining a court order, the timing of the action was inappropriate given the proximity of the August 15 Osun State governorship election.

In a personally signed statement, the President said he was “deeply embarrassed” by the timing of the EFCC’s action because every decision taken by a federal institution is often attributed to him, whether or not he had prior knowledge of it.

“I must state that I feel deeply embarrassed not by the EFCC’s exercise of its mandate backed by a court order, but by the timing of the agency’s action. This is so because every action taken by an institution of State, especially at the Federal level, is always credited to me, as the President, even when I may not have had any prior knowledge of the action,” Tinubu said.

The President reiterated his commitment to allowing anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies to carry out their constitutional responsibilities independently and without political interference. However, he noted that he had not yet been fully briefed on the facts behind the EFCC’s decision to obtain the freezing order but believed the timing could create the impression that the Federal Government was attempting to influence the forthcoming governorship election.

Tinubu consequently directed the EFCC to immediately approach the court to vacate the order freezing the Osun State Government account and discontinue the action, stressing that no federal institution should take steps capable of undermining public confidence in the credibility and fairness of Nigeria’s democratic process.

The EFCC had earlier explained that it froze one Osun State Government account after detecting what it described as suspicious financial transactions involving large transfers to corporate accounts. The commission maintained that the action was part of an investigation into the alleged fraudulent management of about ₦11 billion in public funds and was unrelated to the forthcoming governorship election in Osun State.