Adeleke drops EFCC case after Tinubu steps in

Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has announced that he has told the state Attorney-General to withdraw the case against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. This follows President Bola Tinubu's intervention regarding the freezing of the state government's account.

Adeleke shared this information during an interview with Channels Television on Sunday. This came after he won the Osun State governorship election. He mentioned that he is no longer interested in continuing the case against the EFCC.

"What else do I want? I’ve instructed my Attorney General to drop it. Mr President has done well; he called me. What more do I want?" Adeleke said.

The EFCC had placed a Post No Debit restriction on a government account while investigating the alleged mismanagement of about N11 billion. This includes funds from Ecology Funds, Intervention Funds, and allocations from the Federation Account Allocation Committee.

The commission said the restriction was due to what it called "precipitate and unwarranted movement of funds" into various corporate entities from the account.

Adeleke had opposed the EFCC's action and instructed the state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice to challenge this restriction in court. He called it illegal and politically motivated.

When asked about reports of some of his supporters being held by the EFCC, Adeleke said his lawyers were in talks with the agency. "Well, we are… we’ve been talking, I’ve been calling all my lawyers to go there," he said.

Adeleke also raised concerns over the EFCC inviting some of his aides, especially his spokesperson. "Can you imagine my spokesperson? You are inviting my spokesperson to EFCC. Is my spokesperson a finance minister or accountant? So I told him, ‘Go,’" he said.

He added that his aides went to the EFCC because they had nothing to hide. The governor also mentioned he is not thinking about going back to the All Progressives Congress, even though he has shown support for President Tinubu ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

When asked if he would return to the APC, Adeleke responded, "As I’m talking to you right now, I’m not even thinking about that." He reaffirmed that his decision not to return to the APC does not stop him from supporting Tinubu.

"So, but that doesn’t mean that I cannot say support… Mr President," he said. Adeleke, who has previously run for elections under the APC, then moved to the Peoples Democratic Party and later the Accord Party. He clarified that his support for Tinubu is separate from his party affiliation.

Adeleke also claimed that some people have been using Tinubu’s name in connection with the EFCC issue without the President's knowledge. His comments came after he defeated the APC candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, in Saturday’s governorship election to secure a second term.

Adeleke received 511,067 votes, while Oyebamiji got 444,815 votes, according to results from the Independent National Electoral Commission.