OSOGBO, Osun State — The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has reportedly placed one of the Osun State Government’s accounts with First Bank on a “Post No Debit” restriction, just 10 days before the state’s governorship election scheduled for August 15, 2026.
The affected account is said to be used for the payment of workers’ salaries. The development came shortly after Governor Ademola Adeleke’s administration has been in a running dispute over state finances ahead of the poll.
The move follows weeks of allegations from the Osun State APC Governorship Campaign Council, Diaspora Committee, which had called on the EFCC to freeze accounts allegedly linked to a reported ₦13.7 billion “ghost workers” salary scheme.
The committee alleged that a consultant engaged by the state government in 2023 to audit its workforce discovered irregular salary payments amounting to about ₦13.7 billion annually, including cases where multiple workers’ salaries were reportedly paid into a single bank account.
It claimed that the Executive Vice Chairman of the firm, Sa’adat Bakrin-Ottun, discovered that a single individual received into his bank account the salary meant for 5,615 ghost workers.
The APC committee urged anti-graft agencies to act swiftly to prevent possible diversion of public funds, alleging that the money could be used for political activities ahead of the August 15, 2026 governorship election in the state.
The Secretary of the APC Guber Campaign Diaspora Committee, Tunmise Ajiboye, said the committee was concerned over what it described as silence from relevant anti-corruption agencies since the alleged discovery.
He urged the EFCC and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to investigate the matter.
The EFCC has not yet issued an official statement on the latest “Post No Debit” action on the state account.
Osun State is heading to the polls on August 15, 2026, with Governor Ademola Adeleke seeking re-election under the Peoples Democratic Party.
