Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke has stated that the August 15 governorship election is more than just a struggle for victory but also an opportunity to send a message to the All Progressives Congress about the importance of respecting the electorate.
Adeleke made the claim in a post on his X account on Thursday, alleging that some people used their power to punish the people of Osun State for supporting him in the 2022 election.
“That is why the August 15 election is more than just winning. It is about securing a decisive victory that sends a clear and unmistakable message to the APC: the people of Osun State must always be respected, their democratic choice must be honored, and no one should ever seek to punish them for exercising their constitutional right to vote,” the governor wrote.
The governor’s appointment comes amid a dispute between his government and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, which on Wednesday imposed a post-no-debit restriction on the Osun State Government’s statutory allocation account, only 10 days before the election.
According to a statement issued by the anti-graft agency’s spokesman, Dele Oyewale, the state government has been under investigation since March for alleged fraudulent handling of Ecology Funds, Intervention Funds, and Federation Account Allocation Committee disbursements totaling approximately N11 billion.
The commission said the restriction followed what it described as suspicious transfers from the account to different corporate entities from August 2 and maintained that its action was non-partisan and meant to safeguard public funds.
Adeleke dismissed the EFCC’s explanation, claiming that the freeze violated the constitutional rights of subnational governments and that the commission had no court order before asking the bank to restrict the account.
He stated that he had asked the attorney general and commissioner for justice, Oluwole Jimi-Bada, to contest the action before the Federal High Court in Osogbo.
