Re-elected Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke has said he has directed the state’s Attorney General to withdraw the lawsuit filed against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over the freezing of the state government’s bank account.
Adeleke disclosed this in an interview with Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, shortly after he was declared the winner of the August 15 Osun governorship election.
The governor said he was ready to move past the dispute after President Bola Tinubu intervened in the matter.
Asked whether he intended to put the political disagreements and the EFCC case behind him, Adeleke said he had instructed the state’s Attorney General to discontinue the legal action.
“I’m putting them behind. What else do I want? I have instructed my Attorney General to drop it. Mr President has done well. He called me. What more do I want?” Adeleke said.
The dispute began after the EFCC obtained an order to freeze an Osun State Government bank account in early August, about 10 days before the governorship election.
Adeleke had criticised the action, describing it as politically motivated and disruptive to the operations of his administration. He subsequently approached the court to challenge the freezing order.
President Tinubu later directed the EFCC to return to court to vacate the order and discontinue the related legal proceedings, amid concerns about the timing of the action so close to the election.
The development followed the EFCC’s investigation into the handling of about ₦11 billion in Ecology Funds, intervention funds and Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) allocations.
The commission had said it detected suspicious movements involving the funds and restricted the account to prevent further transactions while its investigation continued.
Adeleke also spoke about reports that some of his aides and supporters had been invited by the EFCC for questioning. He said he had instructed his lawyers to assist those affected.
“Well, we have been talking. I have been calling all my lawyers to go there. I’m sure the APC in Osun, according to them, they are telling us they are using federal might,” he said.
The governor further suggested that President Tinubu might not have been aware of some of the actions attributed to federal agencies.
“Most of these things, the President doesn’t know. The President has a lot of foreign work and jobs to do,” he said.
According to Adeleke, some of his aides were questioned by the EFCC and released after the agency found no wrongdoing.
“I told my people, go there. We haven’t got anything to hide. And when they go there, they ask them questions, and then they will say, ‘Go on.’ Can you imagine my spokesperson? You are inviting my spokesperson — is my spokesperson a finance minister or accountant?” Adeleke asked.
He described the invitations as distractions and alleged that former Osun State Governor Gboyega Oyetola was behind the EFCC-related developments because of his relationship with President Tinubu.
“All these things is Oyetola because he is the cousin to the President. He is dropping the President’s name. I know that the President didn’t know about the EFCC one. That is why he had to call me and stop it,” Adeleke said.
The EFCC has maintained that its actions were connected to an ongoing investigation into the management of public funds and not the Osun governorship election.
With Adeleke now directing the withdrawal of the lawsuit, the immediate legal confrontation between the Osun State Government and the EFCC appears set to ease, following the President’s intervention.
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