Lawmakers Slam Tinubu Over Contradictory EFCC Directive on Osun State Accounts
The House of Representatives Minority Caucus has denounced President Bola Tinubu’s recent instruction to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to vacate the court order freezing Osun State’s accounts, calling the move an insult to the intelligence of Nigerians.
The caucus described the directive as a “panicky, belated afterthought” that emerged only after a massive public outcry, not from a genuine respect for the rule of law.
Conflicting Signals from the Presidency
Lawmakers highlighted a stark contradiction: while EFCC spokesman Wilson Uwujaren told national television that the freezing of Osun State’s accounts was carried out “without a valid court order,” President Tinubu later ordered the anti‑graft agency to return to court to have that same order vacated.
The caucus asked pointedly, “So, which is it? Was there a court order or not? Is the President unaware of what his own appointees are saying and doing?” They questioned whether the President has lost control to sycophantic aides or is attempting to conceal an illegality already exposed.
Allegations of Broader Intimidation Tactics
The Minority Caucus argued that the Osun account freeze fits a wider pattern of intimidation against the state government by the APC‑led Federal Administration. They alleged that for months the Federal Government has withheld statutory allocations to Osun local governments, an act they term “economic strangulation” aimed at weakening grassroots governance ahead of elections.
Lawmakers also cited persistent violence by APC members and so‑called “imported thugs” in Osun, claiming security agencies have failed to intervene decisively. They pointed to the arrest and detention of the Secretary to the Osun State Government, Teslim Igbalaiye, and others as direct attacks on state institutions.
The caucus criticised the Osun State Commissioner of Police, saying his remarks following a recent visit by the Inspector‑General of Police amounted to “partisan propaganda in uniform.” They warned that several presidential appointees continue to make shocking, unpresidential, and inciting statements that erode public confidence.
A Call for Democratic Freedoms in Osun
The statement concluded with a firm reminder: “Yes, Mr. President hails from Osun, but the state cannot be a personal fiefdom. He must allow the people to freely choose who governs them.” The caucus urged that Osun residents be given an enabling environment to exercise their constitutional right to vote without fear, coercion, or voter apathy engineered by state terror.
“Violence, intimidation, economic sabotage, and the misuse of federal agencies have no place in a democracy,” the lawmakers declared, adding that the current situation amounts to a dress rehearsal for what may unfold in the 2027 general elections.
