Calls for the removal of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Chairman Ola Olukoyede intensified on Friday following the controversy over the freezing of Osun State Government accounts ahead of the August 15 governorship election.
Opposition parties and some Nigerians accused the anti-graft agency of political interference, while others urged Olukoyede to resign or be removed by President Bola Tinubu. The EFCC had restricted access to the state government’s First Bank account over alleged suspicious transactions.
The commission said it had been investigating the account since March 2026 and was acting within its statutory powers. President Tinubu, however, directed the EFCC to return to court and vacate the order, describing the timing of the action as embarrassing.
The National Chairman of the Accord Party, Maxwell Mgbudem, said the party had lost confidence in the EFCC leadership and called for Olukoyede’s immediate resignation.
“Having demonstrated unprecedented partisanship in Osun State politics, Accord has lost confidence in the current leadership of the EFCC,” Mgbudem said, adding that Tinubu should sack Olukoyede if he refused to resign.
The National Chairman of the New Nigeria People’s Party, Major Agbo, also supported calls for Olukoyede’s resignation, although he questioned the impact of the President’s directive on the commission’s independence.
Similarly, National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement Worldwide, Yunusa Tanko, advised Olukoyede to consider stepping down, arguing that the controversy had damaged public perception of his independence.
However, the Presidency reportedly dismissed suggestions that Olukoyede would lose his job, saying Tinubu’s criticism was directed at the timing and optics of the EFCC action rather than the chairman’s performance. Human rights lawyer Femi Falana also defended the EFCC, arguing that the commission acted within its statutory powers and that the President should not interfere in its operations.
The House of Representatives minority caucus also questioned the government’s handling of the matter, citing what it described as contradictions over whether the EFCC had obtained a court order. The lawmakers accused the Federal Government of applying political and economic pressure on Osun ahead of the election.
A certified copy of the court order obtained by the EFCC, however, showed that the commission secured an ex-parte order from the Federal High Court in Abuja on August 5, authorising the freezing of three Osun State Government accounts. The order stated that the accounts were under investigation over alleged diversion of public funds and money laundering, pending the conclusion of investigations and possible prosecution.
