Nigeria: Tinubu Calls Adeleke After Mandating EFCC to Rescind Account Freezing Order

President Tinubu in a phone call with Mr Adeleke informed the governor of his directive to the EFCC to vacate the court order freezing the state's account.

President Bola Tinubu called Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke on phone on Thursday to assure him that he has mandated the anti-graft agency, EFCC, to take steps to vacate an order freezing a bank account operated by

The phone call was announced publicly by presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga in a post on X.

"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," Mr Onanuga wrote.

The announcement of the phone conversation came minutes after the presidency announced the directive on the court order.

PREMIUM TIMES reports that the EFCC confirmed on Wednesday that it ordered a freeze of an Osun State government's bank account over suspicion the account was to be used for illegal activities.

The commission also referenced an ongoing investigation into the alleged diversion of about N11 billion in Ecology Funds, Intervention Funds and Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) allocations by the Osun State government.

The Osun State Government had rejected the allegations, describing the restriction as politically motivated and insisting there was no legal basis for freezing a state government's account.

Mr Adeleke's main challenger is the candidate of Mr Tinubu's party (APC), Bola Oyebamiji, who is seeking re-election under the Accord Party.

Mr Tinubu's latest phone conversation with Governor Adeleke represents the first known direct communication between both leaders since the controversy erupted and underscores the presidency's effort to reassure the Osun government that the restriction would be lifted before the August 15 governorship election.

The president maintained that while he supports the operational independence of anti-corruption agencies, noting that such action shouldn't be done days before the August 15 governorship election as that could create the impression that federal institutions were being used to influence the electoral process.

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