Osun crisis: Adebayo rejects calls for EFCC chair’s resignation
August 6, 2026 10:01 pm
L-R: SDP National Woman Leader, Hajiya Sa’adatu Abdullahi; National Chairman, Prof Sadiq Gombe and Presidential Candidate, Prince Adewole Adebayo at Thursday’s press briefing in Abuja. Photo: Adebayo Folorunsho-Francis.
The presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party, Prince Adewole Adebayo, on Thursday said President Bola Tinubu, rather than the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ola Olukoyede, should resign over the controversy surrounding the freezing of the Osun State Government’s accounts.
Adebayo also defended the EFCC chairman, saying he should not be blamed for carrying out his statutory responsibilities, while accusing the President of interfering in the commission’s operations.
He stated this during a press briefing at the SDP national secretariat in Abuja.
His comments come amid growing calls for Olukoyede’s resignation after President Tinubu directed the EFCC to lift the order freezing Osun State Government accounts less than 10 days before the state’s governorship election.
The President said the commission’s action had embarrassed him, prompting criticism from opposition figures and civil society groups.
Speaking on the controversy, Adebayo insisted that responsibility lay with the President.
He said, “The person who ought to resign is President Bola Tinubu. I really don’t have enough evidence to suggest that the EFCC chairman should go. The only person who is at fault here is the President himself.
“I’m not a politician that will criticise the IG of police, EFCC chairman, DG DSS or chief of army staff because those are difficult jobs to do under a very bad government. The buck stops at the table of the President.”
He argued that if the EFCC acted wrongly by freezing the Osun accounts, the matter should be resolved through the courts rather than political interference.
“The law is clear on how to get it right. If the EFCC wrongly froze the account of Osun State Government, there are legal remedies that could be taken to unfreeze, including getting damages against the commission.”
Adebayo further alleged that Tinubu’s reported intervention in the commission’s operations amounted to interference with an independent institution.
He added, “What is a constitutional crisis is that the President, a politician, is now the one directing a lawful body on how to investigate.”
He, however, maintained that the EFCC chairman acted within the powers granted by law.
“I am on the side of the EFCC chairman. He has a right to freeze any account if he thinks it is necessary for his investigation, because the law that gave him that power was passed by the National Assembly and was signed by the President of the time. And it was put under judicial supervision.”
Former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Chidi Odinkalu, was also among the growing number of critics calling for Olukoyede’s resignation.
Odinkalu argued that the EFCC’s position became untenable after Tinubu publicly directed the anti-graft agency to reverse its decision.
The PUNCH journalist, Adebayo, has over 20 years of experience covering politics, health, metro, entertainment and properties
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