Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde has described the freezing of the Osun State government’s account by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission as an attempt to influence the August 15 governorship election in the state.

Mr Makinde, in a statement on Thursday, said, “The “freezing” of an official state government account without due legal process goes beyond the powers vested in the EFCC by the laws of our land. And the timing of the action suggests that this is just another attempt by the federal government to unduly influence the forthcoming governorship election in Osun State.”

The governor, who decried the use of federal institutions to disrupt governance in opposition states in the country, accused federal government of witch-hunting specific public office holders.

“As I said in my last newsletter, no government is above scrutiny but when institutions like the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) are utilised to witch hunt specific states or public office holders, it indicates that their investigations are selective and erodes public trust in these institutions.

“The increasing use of federal institutions to disrupt governance in opposition states in Nigeria is condemnable. Federal institutions must remain faithful to their constitutional mandate by acting with fairness, professionalism and political neutrality at all times,” he added.

Mr Makinde urged Nigerians, civil society organisations and the international community to remain vigilant in defence of democracy and rule of law.

“Democracy cannot thrive where our institutions are perceived as instruments of political intimidation. Protecting the independence and credibility of our institutions is essential to preserving public trust and safeguarding Nigeria’s democracy. The rule of law must prevail over the rule of politics,” the governor added.

However, President Bola Tinubu on Thursday ordered the EFCC to unfreeze the Osun State account, saying the commission’s action was embarrassing to him.

Mr Tinubu stated, “I must state that I feel deeply embarrassed not by the EFCC’s exercise of its mandate backed by a court order, but by the timing of the agency’s action.”

 Recall that the EFCC on Wednesday said that the Osun State government account was frozen “to save public funds from being looted.”

The commission stated this hours after placing a post-no-debit on the state’s statutory allocation account barely 10 days to the governorship election.

Meanwhile, Governor Ademola Adeleke’s administration insisted it would take legal action against the anti-graft agency for its action, describing it as a threat to democracy.