Osun poll: APGA, YPP disagree over calls for EFCC chairman’s resignation

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The All Progressives Grand Alliance and the Young Progressives Party have taken opposing positions on calls for the resignation of the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ola Olukoyede, following the controversy surrounding the freezing of an Osun State Government account ahead of the August 15 governorship election.

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While APGA argued that President Bola Tinubu’s directive ordering the anti-graft agency to reverse its action was sufficient to address the matter, the YPP maintained that the development had raised serious questions about the Commission’s operational independence and accountability.

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The controversy followed the EFCC’s decision to place a restriction on an official Osun State Government account as part of an ongoing investigation into the alleged diversion and laundering of about ₦11bn linked to Ecology Funds, Intervention Funds and Federal Allocation receipts.

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The Commission insisted that its investigation predated the governorship election and was unrelated to partisan politics. However, the action sparked widespread criticism from opposition parties, civil society organisations and legal commentators, who questioned its timing and warned that it could create the perception of federal interference in the electoral process.

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In response to the public outcry, Tinubu directed the EFCC to immediately return to court to seek the discharge of the order freezing the account, saying no action by any federal agency should create the impression of influencing the outcome of the Osun governorship election.

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Speaking on the development, APGA National Publicity Secretary, Ejimofor Opara, said the president’s intervention had effectively addressed the issue. “He (Olukoyede) should be called to order and has been called to order. That for us is sufficient,” Opara told our correspondent in a WhatsApp message on Thursday.

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The YPP, however, took a different position. Its National Publicity Secretary, Wale Egbeola-Martins, said the president’s directive had raised fundamental concerns about the EFCC’s independence and the circumstances surrounding its decision to freeze the account.

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“The president’s directive ordering the EFCC to unfreeze the Osun State Government accounts raises serious questions about the Commission’s operational independence. If the EFCC could freeze a state’s accounts only for the president to subsequently direct that they be unfrozen, it suggests that the action may not have been based solely on the Commission’s independent judgment”, Egbeola-Martins told our correspondent in a WhatsApp message on Thursday.

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Egbeola-Martins argued that if the EFCC Chairman acted outside the scope of the Commission’s statutory powers or allowed the agency to be influenced, he should accept responsibility.

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“From the YPP’s perspective, this development underscores the need for accountability within the EFCC. If the Chairman acted beyond the powers conferred on him or allowed the Commission to be used in a manner inconsistent with its statutory mandate, then he should take responsibility, including considering resignation.

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“The anti-corruption agency must operate strictly within the law and remain insulated from political interference if it is to retain public confidence.”

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The dispute over the Osun State account has intensified political debate ahead of the August 15 governorship election, with opposition parties accusing the Federal Government of using state institutions to influence the electoral process—an allegation the EFCC has consistently denied.

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The anti-graft agency has maintained that its actions were based solely on its statutory mandate to investigate alleged financial crimes and that the investigation into the Osun State Government commenced months before the election.

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Tinubu, while directing the Commission to return to court, said he remained committed to the operational independence of anti-corruption agencies but stressed that no action should undermine public confidence in the credibility and fairness of the forthcoming election.

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