Nigeria: Osun Salary Account Frozen By EFCC Days Before Governorship Election - Official

What the report says

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has frozen a bank account used by the Osun State government for official transactions, including salary payments, according to a report by Premium Times distributed via AllAfrica. The account, held at First Bank, was placed on Post No Debit status, which blocks withdrawals and other debit activity. The development was confirmed by Abdul-Jeleel Samakin, a senior aide to Governor Ademola Adeleke, who said the restriction affected one of the state’s major operating accounts.

The move comes just days before Osun’s governorship election on 15 August 2026 and followed an earlier warning from Adeleke that the anti-graft agency might freeze state accounts ahead of the poll. In a statement issued through the commissioner for information, the governor said such an action would disrupt government operations and public services, and argued that the EFCC had no legal basis to freeze a state government account. The EFCC had not publicly explained the restriction at the time the report was published.

The account freeze adds to a tense political climate in Osun State ahead of the vote. The report notes earlier friction involving security agencies, including a police raid on the residence of the secretary to the state government and protests over the former police commissioner’s handling of election security. More broadly, the case highlights how financial controls and law-enforcement actions can become politically sensitive during election periods.