A political tension appears to have enveloped the Osun State Government, as reports emerged of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), have frozen an account belonging to the state. This came 10 days before the governorship election was scheduled to take place.
Breaking: This morning August 5 2026 and the reverberations can be felt in the nooks and crannies of Osogbo, Ilefe, Ilesa and indeed the entire West of the country.
The EFCC move, reports have said was on the back of a petition to block a phantom N13.7 billion workers’ salary fraudsters by the Diaspora Committee of Osun State APC Governorship Campaign Council.
Why EFCC Froze Osun Govt Account
Osun APC campaign council alleged Osun govt was N13.7 billion paying ghost workers in the state civil service and the money could be diverted for vote-buying towards the 2026 governor election.
In their petition, they also made an appeal to the EFCC for an immediate freeze on the accounts of payment made for “ghost workers”, and further petitioned other bodies of the United Kingdom (UK), United States(US) etc, with regards to visa restrictions on Governor Adeleke and Chief of Staff.
EFCC supposedly is the acting on this petition and they have sealed the account. EFCC has a short time window to bring all guilty parties to book given that it’s few days to guber poll.
This is not the first time Osun is having account issues. In recent months, the Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan also extended an interim injunction against UBA, maintaining a no-debit order on 30 bank accounts where the CBN paid withheld Osun local government allocations.
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Osun Government Heads to Court to Challenge Freeze
In a swift response, the Osun State Government has headed to court to challenge the EFCC account freeze.
Government sources in Osogbo said the freeze is politically motivated and aimed at crippling the government days to the election. The government argues that the allegations of ghost workers are false and part of APC propaganda.
Osun Attorney General will approach the federal high court seeking an order to discharge an EFCC freezing and to allow governor to pay the salaries and maintain the state.
The Osun government also maintains that control of local government funds remains a matter before the Supreme Court in Suit No. SC/CV/773/2025 and that withholding funds at this stage would undermine justice.
What This Means For Western Nigeria
A timely development for Osun and for the surrounding regions: Oyo, Ogun, Ondo, Ekiti and the megacity itself.
The 2026 governorship election in Osun State is a hot one among people in Western Nigeria this year as both the ruling Peoples Democratic Party and opposition APC are not taking chances in their drive around cities and towns like Iwo, Ede, Ikirun, and Ejigbo, among others.
Payment of employee salaries or local government functioning will be adversely impacted if the account still beingfrozen,and thus may effect voters.
Reactions in Osogbo
As at the time of filing this report, streets in Osogbo are calm but social media is on fire. Many residents are asking whether the EFCC action is truly about fighting corruption or a political tool ahead of the election.
The EFCC is yet to release an official statement detailing which account was frozen and the exact amount involved.
Stay tuned to Western Nigeria Blog for more updates on this developing story.
Do you think EFCC freezing Osun govt account 10 days to election is political? Drop your comment below.
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