The Osun State Government has forcefully refuted claims that ₦11 billion was looted from its treasury, condemning the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s (EFCC) reported allegations as a desperate cover-up for illegal anti-graft overreach.
In an official statement released via X on Thursday by the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, the state government insisted that no financial misconduct had taken place.
Instead, Osogbo accused the anti-graft agency of pursuing a political agenda at the behest of former Governor Gboyega Oyetola to block financial relief measures for public servants ahead of the 15 August governorship election.
“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,” the statement declared, clarifying that the state had already successfully disbursed the subsidy to all public sector workers despite the financial restrictions.
Dismissing the EFCC’s assertion that freezing the account was a necessary preventive measure to halt the diversion of public funds, the state government labelled the probe a partisan witch-hunt.
“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,” Alimi stated. He added: “We don’t loot public funds in Osun State; we deliver on public goods and services.”
According to the state administration, Osun’s limited revenue remains dedicated to infrastructure, public sector wages, and key development initiatives. “There is no fund to loot in Osun State as the little resources we have are expended on the many mega projects, workers welfare and sectoral developments for the benefit of the masses,” the statement read.
The government further alleged that state officials had endured weekly harassment since March 2026 without the EFCC presenting any indicting evidence. Osogbo maintained that if the commission had legitimate grounds for investigation, it should have followed due process rather than resorting to arbitrary administrative action.
“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,” the commissioner stressed.
Describing the EFCC’s claims of suspected fund movement as a narrative created after the fact, the government concluded: “It is sad that a commission will lie to destroy the image of a state to cover up an illegal action that has backfired. This alibi from the commission is an afterthought and it cannot stand the test of truth in reality and the court of public opinion.”