Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has disclosed what President Bola Ahmed Tinubu told him after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) froze the state government’s account.
The governor spoke on Tuesday during the Arise Town Hall for Osun governorship candidates ahead of Saturday’s election, while responding to questions about his relationship with Tinubu and allegations of federal interference in the election.
Adeleke said Tinubu told him he was embarrassed by the development and insisted that the action was unacceptable, stressing that the president had assured him of a free and fair election.
According to Adeleke, the president’s intervention showed that Tinubu was not responsible for ordering the freezing of the state’s account, contrary to claims attributed to some political actors.
He alleged that his predecessor, Gboyega Oyetola, had been using Tinubu’s name to influence federal agencies because of his relationship with the president, who is Oyetola’s cousin.
Adeleke said Tinubu had a demanding national responsibility and might not always be aware when his name was being invoked by individuals seeking to influence government agencies.
He further alleged that Oyetola was responsible for the pressure that led to the EFCC freezing the state’s account, claiming that the former governor had presented the action as one directed by Tinubu.
The Osun governor said Tinubu’s phone call to him subsequently clarified the president’s position and demonstrated that he did not support any action capable of undermining democracy or the credibility of the election.
Adeleke also maintained that the political crisis in Osun was largely driven by Oyetola’s alleged opposition to his administration and his desire to influence the outcome of the governorship election.
He accused the former governor of attempting to use the influence of the Federal Government against the state and vowed that such efforts would not be allowed to undermine the interests of Osun residents.
Adeleke said Osun belonged to all its citizens and insisted that the state would resist any attempt by political actors to destabilise it for electoral purposes.
He said, “Well, as for Mr. President calling me, like I said before, I really appreciate him for calling. But in terms of that federal might, I can say it here authoritatively.
“You know, my predecessor, Gboyega Oyetola, is a cousin to the president. You know, the president has a real job to do. Most of the time he might not even know. So he’s dropping names, threatening all the agencies that Mr. President said this, Mr. President do this. Even he was the one, I’m sure, that went to tell the EFCC to freeze our account, that Mr. President said that.
“So when Mr. President called, a lot of people started saying, ah. So it is not Mr. President that said it should freeze my account, it is Gboyega Oyetola. Mr. President said he was embarrassed.
“For the first time, Mr. President said that he was embarrassed, that it’s not acceptable. Because I told Mr. President, you fought for this democracy. So I’m sure you will not allow this democracy to go down. And we both agreed on that. And Mr. President promised a free and fair election. It is, politics is local.
“It is Oyetola that is feeling that pain of defeat, and he has vowed that he will destroy Osun State by dropping Mr. President’s name to destroy Osun State. Look, he’s not the only one from Osun State. We own Osun State together. We will not allow that to happen. So he’s the one, he’s the one using federal might. I can say it without fear.”