Osun Poll: Tinubu’s Directive To EFCC Shows Government At War With Itself – Reps Minority Caucus

The House of Representatives Minority Caucus has accused President Bola Tinubu of issuing what it described as a “panicky, belated afterthought” directive to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), arguing that the move exposed deep contradictions within the Federal Government and an alleged plot to intimidate the Osun State Government ahead of next week’s governorship election.

In a statement jointly signed by the Minority Leader, Hon. Fredrick Agbedi, and the Caucus Spokesman, Hon. Afam Victor Ogene, and made available to journalists in Abuja on Thursday, the lawmakers said the President’s directive instructing the EFCC to vacate the court order freezing Osun State’s accounts came only after “massive public outcry” and not out of respect for the rule of law.

According to the Caucus, the development demonstrates “a government at war with itself,” citing what it described as conflicting positions within the Tinubu administration over the legality of the EFCC’s actions.

The lawmakers noted that while EFCC spokesman, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, reportedly stated on national television on Thursday that the freezing of Osun State’s accounts was carried out “without a valid court order,” the President later directed the anti-graft agency to return to court to “vacate the order.”

Questioning the apparent contradiction, the Caucus asked: “So, which is it? Was there a court order or not?

“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 opposition lawmakers also alleged that senior presidential aides were among the first to circulate and defend the EFCC’s initial statement justifying the freezing of the state’s accounts.

“It is, therefore, insulting for the President to pretend ignorance. Nigerians are not fools,” the statement added.

The Minority Caucus further argued that the latest development fits into what it described as a broader pattern of intimidation against the Osun State Government by the APC-led Federal Government.

It alleged that the Federal Government had, for months, withheld statutory allocations due to Osun local governments in what it termed “economic strangulation” aimed at weakening governance at the grassroots ahead of the election.

The lawmakers also alleged persistent violence by APC members and “imported thugs” in the state, claiming that security agencies had failed to act decisively.

They further cited the arrest and detention of the Secretary to the Osun State Government, Teslim Igbalaiye, and others, describing the action as a direct attack on the state’s institutions.

The Caucus equally criticised the conduct of the Osun State Commissioner of Police and alleged that comments made following a recent visit by the Inspector-General of Police amounted to “partisan propaganda in uniform.”

According to the lawmakers, some of President Tinubu’s appointees had continued to make “shocking, unpresidential and inciting statements” capable of damaging public confidence in the administration.

“The mask is off. Nigerians can now see clearly that the APC has weaponised federal institutions against opposition states — a dress rehearsal of what is to come in the 2027 general elections.

“Yes, Mr. President hails from Osun, but the state cannot be a personal fiefdom. He must allow the people to freely choose who governs them.

“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.

“Violence, intimidation, economic sabotage and the misuse of federal agencies have no place in a democracy,” the statement read.

The Minority Caucus warned against any attempt to influence the outcome of the governorship election through the deployment of federal institutions, insisting that “Osun is not a conquered territory.”