Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke on Wednesday accused the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission of ordering the freeze of a state government account just 10 days before the August 15 governorship election.
The governor said the state received a letter from its banker conveying the EFCC directive placing the account, used for workers’ salaries, on “Post No Debit” status without a court order.
“This morning, we received a letter from our banker, forwarding a letter from the EFCC, instructing the bank to freeze Osun State Government account. This action was taken without any court order,” Adeleke said.
“We are supposed to be in a democracy where the rule of law must always prevail. We will therefore not accept any situation where federal agencies trample on the constitutional rights of sub-national governments. This is a threat to democracy.”
He demanded that the EFCC chairman explain the action and provide supporting evidence, describing the move and other alleged actions against the state as turning democracy into “a huge joke.”
Adeleke noted that several officials, including accountants and ministry staff, had been invited for questioning but that the agency had found nothing wrong.
“They never found Osun State wanting. Because when you look at the history of prudence and transparency, we came first. We are very transparent,” he added.
State Attorney-General Oluwole Jimi-Bada said the EFCC lacked unilateral power under relevant laws to freeze a state government’s statutory account holding public funds for salaries, pensions and essential services.
Finance Commissioner Adeola Ogungbile rejected any suggestion that limited statutory allocations were being used to fund the governor’s re-election bid.
The EFCC has not yet responded publicly to the allegation.
