Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has directed the state Attorney-General to withdraw the lawsuit filed against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over the freezing of the state government’s bank accounts.
Gatekeepers News reports that Adeleke disclosed this in an interview with Channels Television on Sunday, shortly after he was declared winner of the August 15 governorship election and secured a second term in office.
The Governor said he decided to discontinue the case following an intervention by President Bola Tinubu, who he said personally contacted him over the matter.
Adeleke said the President’s intervention had resolved the dispute, adding that he had instructed the Attorney-General to withdraw the case.
The development followed Tinubu’s intervention on August 6, when the President directed the EFCC to return to court to vacate the order freezing Osun State’s accounts and discontinue the related proceedings.
Tinubu had expressed concern over the timing of the EFCC’s action, noting that it came only days before the Osun governorship election. He also said actions taken by federal agencies were often attributed to the Presidency even when he had no prior knowledge of them.
The freezing of the accounts had triggered a legal dispute between the Osun government and the anti-graft agency, with the state challenging the action in court.
Speaking on the development, Adeleke said he had decided to put the matter behind him after the President’s intervention.
The Governor also addressed reports that some members of his administration had been invited by the EFCC for questioning. He said he had instructed his lawyers to assist the affected officials during their interactions with the commission.
Adeleke further alleged that former Osun Governor and current Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola, was behind the EFCC action, claiming that Oyetola had been using the President’s name. The allegation was made by Adeleke during the interview and has not been independently established.
The development comes after Adeleke’s re-election in the August 15 Osun governorship poll, in which he defeated his challengers to secure another term as Governor of the state.
