The Imole Campaign Council (TICC) has accused the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of executing what it described as an “economic coup” against Osun State by freezing the state government’s accounts barely days to the August 15 governorship election.

TICC, in a statement signed by its Chairman, Media and Publicity Committee, Bamidele Salam, alleged that the EFCC’s action had gone beyond the commission’s anti-corruption mandate and amounted to an attempt to undermine the democratic process in the state.

The campaign council described the timing of the account freeze as particularly troubling, given that Governor Ademola Adeleke, the incumbent, is seeking re-election in the poll.

According to TICC, the EFCC has, by freezing the accounts, effectively restricted the ability of a democratically elected government to discharge its constitutional responsibilities to the people.

“By implication, the EFCC as a body set up by law is frustrating a sub-national government from carrying out its lawful duties of payment of salary and allowances, pensions, fixing infrastructure, addressing security challenges and carrying out other duties which the Nigerian Constitution has entrusted unto the state,” it said.

The council said the development amounted to an “economic coup” against millions of Osun residents, alleging that the anti-graft agency had weaponised its powers to create economic pressure on the electorate ahead of the election.

TICC argued that the consequences of the account freeze could extend beyond politics, potentially affecting essential public services, including workers’ payments, pensions, infrastructure projects, security operations and public health interventions.

The council said it was not opposed to accountability or the investigation of alleged financial infractions, but rejected what it called the use of anti-corruption machinery for political purposes.

“As much as we are not opposed to accountability in governance, we state our total rejection to political witch-hunting disguised as corruption fight,” TICC said.

It alleged that the timing of the EFCC’s action and what it described as the commission’s subsequent posture had raised serious concerns about political interference in the electoral process.

The campaign council warned that public institutions should not be transformed into instruments for influencing the choices of voters, insisting that the people of Osun should be allowed to freely determine who governs them through the ballot.

TICC therefore called on the EFCC to immediately unfreeze the state government’s accounts, arguing that governance should not be paralysed because of an electoral contest.

The council maintained that any investigation into the affairs of the state government should be conducted without undermining the ability of the government to provide essential services to the people.

It urged the anti-graft agency to refrain from actions capable of undermining the credibility of the August 15 election, insisting that the political future of Osun must be decided by voters and not through what it described as the “weaponisation” of state institutions.