- Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke warned that the EFCC had concluded plans to freeze all state government accounts and those of top officials
- The governor said the alleged plot was timed to paralyse government activities ahead of the August 15 governorship election
- Adeleke, according to the statement, declared that the EFCC has no legal authority to freeze the accounts of a state government
Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke raised an alarm on Tuesday, August 4, that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had concluded plans to freeze all accounts belonging to the Osun state government, as well as the personal accounts of senior government officials.
The governor, who spoke in a statement issued in Osogbo by the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Oluomo Kolapo Alimi, said credible intelligence pointed to the scheme, which he described as the “height of lawlessness.”
Adeleke links plot to August 15 governorship election
Adeleke said he believed the timing of the alleged move was not coincidental, linking it directly to the forthcoming Osun governorship election scheduled for August 15. He said freezing the state’s accounts at this point would cripple the day-to-day running of government and leave the state administration unable to function in the critical period before the vote.
The governor insisted there was no legal basis for such an action, arguing that the EFCC does not possess the statutory authority to freeze a state government’s accounts. He said no justification, legal or otherwise, had been presented to warrant such an extraordinary step against a constitutionally established government.
EFCC yet to respond
The statement did not indicate whether the Osun State government had formally written to the EFCC or sought a court order to pre-empt the alleged action. The commissioner signed off on the release without providing further details on what steps the state intended to take in response.
The EFCC had not issued any public statement on the matter as of the time of the governor’s announcement.
Source: Legit.ng