Tinubu Speaks With Adeleke On Phone After Ordering EFCC To Unfreeze Osun’s Account

President Bola Tinubu reached out to Governor Ademola Adeleke via telephone on Thursday to brief him on the directive issued to the EFCC instructing the anti-graft agency to lift the Post-No-Debit order placed on the Osun State Government bank account.

Disclosing the discussion publicly, presidential media aide Bayo Onanuga shared details of the interaction through a statement 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.

While the official announcement omitted which party initiated the contact, the exchange happened shortly after the presidency publicized the directive concerning the restriction.

Earlier on Wednesday, the anti-corruption agency defended the freeze order, linking it to an active inquiry into the alleged mismanagement of roughly N11 billion involving Ecology, Intervention, and FAAC funds.

The state administration previously dismissed the restriction as a politically driven move devoid of any legal justification.

With Adeleke facing an electoral contest where his primary challenger is tied to the president’s political platform through Accord Party candidate Bola Oyebamiji, the direct communication marks a notable peace-building step prior to the August 15 poll.

President Tinubu earlier expressed deep displeasure regarding the timing of the investigative actions, noting they came merely ten days prior to the regional ballot.

“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,” Mr Tinubu wrote.

“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.”

Although the presidency maintained that the agency secured a judicial order on August 5, initial public communications from the anti-fraud commission relied solely on direct directives sent to First Bank without mentioning judicial backing.

Despite acknowledging that he lacked prior awareness of the exact court filings, President Tinubu stressed that the development threatened to cast doubt on the credibility of the upcoming exercise.

“Osun State is only a few days away from its gubernatorial election. Therefore, nothing ought to be done to give an impression that the EFCC or indeed any other agency of the federal government is being used to interfere with the election.

“Based on the foregoing premise, I am duty-bound to issue a directive on this issue in consonance with the overriding public interest in preserving public confidence and the integrity, credibility, and fairness of our democratic process,” Mr Tinubu stated.

“Accordingly, I have directed the EFCC to immediately proceed to the court to vacate the order and discontinue whatever action it has instituted against the Osun State Government in this regard.”

This presidential intervention halts a high-stakes controversy that dominated local political discussions following the initial freeze of the state funds.