The African Democratic Congress (ADC) said President Bola Tinubu’s directive to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to unfreeze the accounts of the Osun State government, has demystified the claimed independence of the anti-corruption agency.
ADC in a statement by the National Publicity Secretary Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, said that rather than demonstrating institutional independence, “it confirms that the presidency could whimsically intervene or direct one way or another based on political considerations.”
The party wondered why President Tinubu could personally issue the statement on such matter, adding that if all that the president wanted to achieve was to get the EFCC to reverse itself, he would simply tell the commission to do so instead of issuing a press statement.
“This solo performance by the president actually exposes more than it was intended to conceal.
“This is quite unusual, and it raises the question of why the president feels the need to personally sign a press statement on a matter such as this?” ADC asked.
The party said it is not Tinubu’s concern for democratic integrity that made him issue the directive but “the overwhelming condemnation from Nigerians, civil society, political parties, and the wider public who recognised the account freezing for what it was: an extraordinary abuse of state power meant to influence the outcome of the governorship election.”
ADC stated that since the President has now demonstrated that he could direct federal agencies to discontinue proceedings based on public interest or democratic fairness, he should also consider directing the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and its counsel to stop opposing the bail application of Mallam Nasir El-Rufai.
The party noted that the president repeatedly made reference to an alleged court order authorising the freezing of the Osun State government’s accounts, and said it raised more questions than answers.
“This is a remarkable new twist ” ADC stated, stating that in all of its public statements on this matter, the EFCC never claimed that it had obtained a court order.
“The commission consistently defended its actions on the basis of its statutory powers and what it described as ‘preventive mandate.’
“At no point did it inform Nigerians that a court had authorised its actions,” it stated.
