Accord Party has demanded the immediate resignation of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Chairman, Ola Olukoyede over the freezing of a bank account of Osun State Government.
Simultaneously, it commended President Bola Tinubu for directing the agency to unfreeze the account.
It asked the president to sack Olukoyede if he failed to resign to restore the integrity of the anti-graft agency.
Accord Party’s National Chairman, Chief Maxwell Mgbudem, made the demands on Friday while addressing a world press conference at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja.
He said the party welcomed Tinubu’s intervention following the EFCC’s directive to freeze the state government’s accounts, describing the President’s action as timely.
His words, “Accord welcomes President Tinubu’s timely intervention in this critical national issue and urges security agencies, anti-graft commissions, the electoral umpire and relevant democratic institutions to strictly abide by their rules of engagement, statutory duties and democratic ethics.”
Mgbudem said Accord had lost confidence in the leadership of the EFCC, alleging that the commission had demonstrated partisanship in the politics of Osun State ahead of the August 15 governorship election.
His words, “Having demonstrated unprecedented partisanship in Osun State politics, assaulted the sensibilities of fellow compatriots and brought the nation to ridicule and disrepute before the international community, Accord has lost confidence in the current leadership of the EFCC.
“Accordingly, Accord demands the immediate resignation of the EFCC chairman. For embarrassing the President, the party, the government and people of Osun State, and fellow citizens, the EFCC chairman should toe the path of honour and tender his resignation.
“If he fails to resign, President Tinubu should sack him immediately to restore the integrity of the anti-graft agency.”
Mgbudem said there should be no “sacred cow” in efforts to sanitise the anti-corruption agency and strengthen Nigeria’s democratic system.
The party also urged security agencies and other institutions involved in the Osun election to remain impartial and operate within the law.
He said, “Electoral contest is not warfare. It should not be militarised by deploying federal apparatus to suppress, subdue and oppress political opponents and their supporters to favour a party that has been rejected by the people.”
