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By Tracy Moses
The Minority Caucus of the House of Representatives has questioned President Bola Tinubu’s directive to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to return to court and vacate an order freezing the accounts of the Osun State Government, alleging that the conflicting positions surrounding the action point to an attempt to conceal an illegality.
The Caucus said the President’s intervention, which came after widespread public criticism of the EFCC’s action, raised fundamental questions about the circumstances under which the state government’s accounts were frozen and whether the Commission had acted within the law.
In a statement jointly signed by its Leader, Hon. Fredrick Agbedi, and Spokesman, Hon. Afam Victor Ogene, and made available to journalists in Abuja on Thursday, the lawmakers described the President’s directive as a “panicky, belated afterthought”, arguing that it followed what they called “massive public outcry”.
The controversy comes as Osun prepares for its governorship election, placing the actions of federal law-enforcement agencies in the state under heightened political scrutiny. The Minority Caucus argued that the EFCC action should not be considered in isolation but against what it described as a broader pattern of pressure on the opposition-controlled state.
The lawmakers said the episode had exposed what they called “A Government At War With Itself”, citing what they considered a contradiction between the EFCC’s explanation of its action and the President’s subsequent directive.
The EFCC spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, stated on national television on Thursday that the freezing of Osun’s accounts was carried out “without a valid court order”.
Yet, later the same day, President Tinubu directed the Commission to go to court to “vacate the order”.
“So, which is it? Was there a court order or not?” the Caucus asked.
“Is the President not aware of what his own appointees are saying and doing? Has the President lost control to his army of sycophants who behave like lords over the people? Or are they simply trying to hide an illegality that has already been exposed?”
The lawmakers further alleged that senior presidential aides were initially involved in circulating and defending the EFCC’s position before the President’s intervention.
“It is, therefore, insulting for the President to pretend ignorance… Nigerians are not fools,” the Caucus said.
The Minority lawmakers maintained that the account-freezing controversy was part of what they described as a “Pattern of High-Handedness” against Osun State and its people.
They alleged that statutory allocations due to the state’s local governments had been withheld or seized for months, describing the situation as “economic strangulation aimed at crippling governance at the grassroots ahead of elections.”
The Caucus also alleged “unending violence perpetrated by APC members and imported thugs in Osun”, accusing the police of “curious and deliberate inaction”.
It further cited the arrest and detention of the Secretary to the Osun State Government, Teslim Igbalaiye, and others, describing what it called the “Gestapo-style arrest and detention” as an attack on the state government.
According to the lawmakers, the arrests were based on what they described as “flimsy accusations” and constituted “a direct attack on the institution of the state government.”
The Caucus also criticised the conduct of the Osun State Commissioner of Police and alleged that an Inspector-General of Police visit to the state was followed by “baseless, politically-motivated allegations that the State Government is ‘harboring hoodlums in the Government House’.”
“This is not policing. It is partisan propaganda in uniform,” the lawmakers said.
The Minority Caucus accused President Tinubu’s appointees of making “shocking, unpresidential, and inciting statements”, warning that such conduct could further erode confidence in the administration.
“The mask is off. Nigerians can now see clearly that the APC has weaponized federal institutions against opposition states – a dress rehearsal of what is to come in the 2027 general elections,” the Caucus said.
The lawmakers said the President’s political ties to Osun should not translate into control over the state’s political affairs, insisting that voters must be allowed to determine their leadership through a credible electoral process.
“Yes, Mr. President hails from Osun, but the state cannot be a personal fiefdom; he must therefore allow the people to freely choose who governs them,” they said.
They called for an electoral environment free from intimidation, coercion and other forms of pressure.
“The people of Osun should be given the enabling environment to freely exercise their constitutional right to vote, without fear, coercion, or voter apathy engineered by state terror.”
The lawmakers warned that violence, intimidation, economic pressure and the alleged misuse of federal agencies had no place in a democratic society.
“Violence, intimidation, economic sabotage, and the misuse of federal agencies have NO place in a democracy,” they declared.
“Osun is not a conquered territory. You will not rig this election through EFCC, through the Police, or through thuggery.”
The Caucus called on civil society organisations and the international community to hold the APC and the Federal Government responsible for any breakdown of law and order before, during or after the election.
“Osun people will vote. Osun people will be protected. And democracy will prevail,” the statement concluded.