The minority caucus of the House of Representatives has questioned President Bola Tinubu’s alleged control over the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) amid the controversy over the freezing of the Osun State Government’s account.
The caucus described the President’s directive for the anti-graft agency to vacate the freezing order as a panicky and belated afterthought, saying the episode had exposed contradictions within the Federal Government.
In a statement jointly signed by the Minority Leader, Fredrick Agbedi, and the caucus spokesman, Afam Ogene, and made available to journalists in Abuja on Friday, the lawmakers said the President’s intervention appeared to have come after widespread public criticism of the EFCC’s action.
The lawmakers focused on what they described as conflicting positions by the EFCC and the President over the existence of a valid court order authorising the freezing of the accounts.
They alleged that the EFCC spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, had stated on national television that the accounts were frozen “without a valid court order,” while the President subsequently directed the commission to approach the court to vacate the order.
“So, which is it? Was there a court order or not?” the caucus asked.
The lawmakers also questioned the President’s awareness of the actions and public statements of his appointees.
“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?” they asked.
The minority caucus further alleged that senior presidential aides had initially circulated and defended the EFCC’s position on the account freeze before the President intervened.
“It is, therefore, insulting for the President to pretend ignorance… Nigerians are not fools,” the lawmakers said.
The caucus linked the controversy to what it described as a broader pattern of pressure on the Osun State Government ahead of the governorship election.
It cited the alleged withholding of statutory allocations to Osun local governments, violence allegedly perpetrated by APC members and suspected thugs, the arrest and detention of the Secretary to the State Government, Teslim Igbalaiye, and the conduct of the state Commissioner of Police.
The lawmakers also criticised what they described as allegations by the police that the Osun State Government was harbouring hoodlums in the Government House.
“This is not policing. It is partisan propaganda in uniform,” the caucus said.
They accused the APC-led Federal Government of using federal institutions to mount pressure on opposition-controlled states, describing the situation in Osun as a possible “dress rehearsal” for the 2027 general elections.
“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,” it said.
