Tinubu orders EFCC to unfreeze Osun govt account, says he's 'deeply embarrassed'

President Bola Tinubu has directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to immediately vacate the court order that froze the Osun State government account, just ten days before the state's governorship election. The anti-graft agency had frozen the account domiciled in First Bank on Wednesday, triggering outrage from opposition parties who alleged the move was designed to stop Governor Ademola Adeleke's re-election bid.

In a statement released yesterday and shared by his spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu said he felt "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." He explained that every action by a federal institution is credited to him as President, even when he has no prior knowledge. He added: "Since assuming office, I have consistently maintained that anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies must be allowed to discharge their statutory responsibilities independently, professionally, without fear or favour, or political interference."

This is a rare public reversal, but the timing raises serious questions. Why did the EFCC act now, with an election days away, and why did it take the President's intervention to correct it? If institutions are truly independent, why does a directive from Aso Rock become necessary at all? The opposition will see this as proof that the system is weaponised, while the administration will claim it is protecting due process. Which side do you believe?