A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, has described the reported freezing of the bank accounts of the Osun State Government by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as a dangerous development capable of undermining the nation’s nascent democracy.
Chief Eze said the timing of the action few days after the assertion by President Tinubu that all is fair in politics leaves discerning Nigerians with the unavoidable impression that the EFCC has become a willing instrument in the hands of political actors determined to gain undue electoral advantage.
According to him, anti-corruption institutions derive their legitimacy from fairness, impartiality and fidelity to the rule of law, adding that once their actions become selective and politically convenient, public confidence is inevitably eroded.
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“It is impossible to ignore the glaring double standards that have come to define the operations of the EFCC. Nigerians watched for years as allegations of reckless expenditure, questionable contract awards, and extravagant deployment of Rivers State resources under the administration of former Governor Nyesom Wike dominated public discourse. Billions of naira belonging to the people of Rivers State were allegedly dispensed through donations to other states, politically motivated projects, and contracts reportedly awarded at outrageously inflated costs. Yet, the EFCC neither demonstrated the same urgency nor exhibited the zeal it now deploys against perceived political opponents”, Eze maintained.
He said that if the EFCC genuinely seeks to fight corruption, no public official, regardless of political affiliation or proximity to the Federal Government, should enjoy immunity from investigation. He further argued that selective justice is nothing but injustice disguised as law enforcement and warned that the anti-graft agency risks destroying its institutional credibility if it continues to operate on the basis of political convenience rather than evidence and due process.
The ADC Chieftain urged the EFCC to immediately reverse any action capable of crippling the legitimate activities of the Osun State Government without due judicial process and to reassure Nigerians through transparent and even-handed enforcement that it remains an independent institution rather than an extension of partisan politics.
He further called on the Commission to investigate every allegation of corruption wherever it exists, including those involving politically influential individuals, instead of concentrating its attention only on states governed by perceived opponents of the ruling establishment.
Eze maintained that Nigerians should not keep quiet over the development stating that Tinubu started with the suspension of a sitting governor and nobody talked, he went ahead to detain a former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, and with the reported freezing of the Osun State Government’s accounts are all examples of constitutional breaches.
He appealed to the people of Osun State to remain peaceful, vigilant and resolute as they prepare for the governorship election, even as he urged them not to be intimidated by actions that may be perceived as attempts to influence the electoral process through state institutions.
According to him, democracy flourishes only when elections are conducted on a level playing field where the will of the people, and not the machinery of political persecution, determines the outcome.
He concluded by reminding all institutions of government that their constitutional allegiance is to the Federal Republic of Nigeria and not to any political party or administration, emphasizing that history will ultimately judge every institution by its commitment to justice, fairness, and the rule of law.
