Ibadan, Nigeria – Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has maintained that his administration has nothing to hide regarding the management of the state’s finances, insisting that its decision to seek judicial clarification over a request from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was lawful and transparent.
Makinde’s response followed criticism from the Oyo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), which reacted to a Federal High Court ruling delivered in Ibadan on Wednesday. The court held that the EFCC lacks the constitutional authority to investigate the finances of the current Oyo State administration.
In a statement issued on Thursday by the APC’s Publicity Secretary, Wasiu Sadare, the opposition party criticized the court’s judgment, insisting that the anti-graft agency would carry out its mandate “at the appropriate time.”
Responding through his Special Adviser on Media, Dr. Sulaimon Olanrewaju, Governor Makinde dismissed the APC’s allegations, stating that the state government had managed public resources responsibly and had no reason to evade scrutiny.
According to the governor, the state’s decision to approach the Federal High Court was prompted by the EFCC’s request for copies of all contracts and details of transactions involving contractors between 2021 and 2025. He stressed that the legal action was solely aimed at obtaining judicial clarification on the commission’s powers and not to prevent any investigation.
Makinde described the APC’s claim that the court action was an attempt to avoid investigation as “misleading and legally unfounded.”
“The decision of the Oyo State Government to approach the Federal High Court for clarification on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s (EFCC) demand for copies of all contracts and details of transactions with contractors between 2021 and 2025 is not an attempt to forestall investigation because neither the state government nor Governor Seyi Makinde has anything to hide,” the statement read.
He added that seeking judicial interpretation is a constitutional right available to every Nigerian and should not be misconstrued as an admission of wrongdoing.
“The APC’s claim that Governor Makinde’s decision to seek judicial intervention amounts to avoiding investigation is both misleading and legally unfounded. Resorting to the courts is not an admission of guilt but a constitutional right guaranteed under Nigerian law,” the governor stated.
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