Osun Rejects ₦11bn Looting Allegation

The Osun State Government has denied allegations that ₦11 billion was looted from state funds, describing the reported claims by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as baseless. The Osun EFCC allegations come amid an ongoing dispute over the freezing of the state’s bank accounts ahead of the August 15 governorship election.

In a statement posted on X on Thursday, Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment Kolapo Alimi said there was no financial misconduct. He alleged that the EFCC froze the state’s account on the instruction of former Governor Gboyega Oyetola to prevent the payment of palliatives promised to workers.

The statement said, “The real reason the commission froze the state account on the order of Gboyega Oyetola was to stop the payment of palliatives which the state government promised the workers some months ago.”

According to the government, all eligible state workers have already received the palliative payments despite the account restriction. It added that the subsidy was not the first cost-of-living support provided to workers in the state.

Rejecting claims of financial mismanagement, the government accused the EFCC of conducting a politically motivated investigation.

It stated, “All material facts point to the fact that the commission is pursuing a hatchet job for the Osun APC by illegally freezing the state account and falsely accusing the government of looting ecological and other state funds.”

The government also declared, “We don’t loot public funds in Osun State; we deliver on public goods and services.” It said available resources have been used for infrastructure projects, workers’ welfare and other development programmes, insisting there were no funds available for misappropriation.

The statement further claimed that the EFCC had been investigating senior government officials since March 2026 without uncovering evidence of wrongdoing. It alleged that officials had faced repeated questioning intended to distract them from carrying out their responsibilities.

The government argued that if the commission possessed credible evidence of corruption, it should follow established legal procedures rather than freezing government accounts.

It said, “Assuming but not conceding that the EFCC has any evidence of looting as posited, there are established procedures for bringing suspects to book instead of a politically motivated, unlawful freezing of government accounts without recourse to the rule of law.”

Describing the reported allegations as an afterthought, the state government concluded that the claims were an attempt to justify what it considered an unlawful action.

The Osun EFCC allegations follow the EFCC’s earlier explanation that the account freeze was intended to prevent the alleged diversion of public funds despite the approaching governorship election.

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