10 days to Osun poll, EFCC freezes State Government account

Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has allegedly put on hold an Osun State Government bank account held at First Bank, ten days before the state’s gubernatorial elections.

As per the documents seen by Vanguard newspaper, the account – which is said to be used for paying salaries to government workers – has been put on “Post No Debit” position by the anti-corruption agency.

This came barely few hours after Governor Ademola Adeleke had raised alarm about the EFCC planning to freeze the accounts of the state as well as government officials.

In a statement released via his commissioner for information and public enlightenment Kolapo Alimi on Wednesday, the governor said that freezing of the account was aimed at paralyzing operations of the government ahead of the gubernatorial election on August 15.

Adeleke claimed that there was no legal basis for such actions as EFCC did not have the statutory power to freeze accounts of government entities.

A source close to the governor, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to comment publicly, confirmed to Vanguard that the account had already been restricted.

“I can confirm that the state government account has been frozen by the EFCC. It is no longer an allegation. The governor will address the press shortly to update the public on the situation,” the source said.

As of the time of filing this report, the EFCC had not issued an official statement on the development, while the reason for placing the account on “Post No Debit” status remained unclear.