The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has condemned the freezing of Osun State’s accounts, describing the action as “political terrorism” and accusing President Bola Tinubu’s administration of using federal institutions to intimidate the state ahead of the governorship election.
In a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the party alleged that the Federal Government was deploying state institutions to weaken the opposition for partisan advantage.
“This is not an administrative decision or a legal dispute,” Abdullahi said. “It is political terrorism by the Bola Tinubu-led APC government, carried out with the instruments of the Nigerian state to undermine the Osun State Government ahead of the coming governorship election.”
The ADC said withholding statutory allocations formed part of a wider campaign of political intimidation, alleging that it included the continued occupation of local government councils by unelected APC loyalists, the arrest of opposition figures and the use of armed political thugs allegedly protected by security agencies.
According to the party, denying the state access to public funds amounted to punishing innocent residents, arguing that workers’ salaries, primary healthcare, education and other essential public services had become casualties of political rivalry.
The opposition party warned that President Tinubu’s “all is fair in war” approach to politics posed a grave danger to democracy, insisting that political opponents should never be treated as enemies or subjected to state-backed persecution.
Abdullahi further alleged that federal authorities had allowed unconstitutional control of local councils to persist, while opposition politicians faced intimidation through arrests and alleged harassment by security agencies.
He also claimed that armed groups linked to the APC had openly terrorised communities across Osun without decisive intervention, alleging that some security personnel had failed in their constitutional duty by tolerating such actions.
The ADC demanded the immediate restoration of statutory allocations to Osun’s local governments, an end to what it described as federal intimidation and the full restoration of constitutional order, insisting that the people of the state must be allowed to choose their governor without interference.
(The Sun)