The Oyo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has urged Governor Seyi Makinde to submit his administration to public scrutiny, insisting that no elected official should avoid accountability over the management of public funds.
The party revealed this on Thursday after a Federal High Court restrained the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from obtaining records of state contracts awarded between 2021 and the present.
The opposition said the issue matters because Nigerians have a right to know how public money is spent.
The court ruling followed an application filed by the Oyo State Government. The state said the order was meant to stop what it viewed as unlawful access to its contract records.
The decision has now drawn a political response from the APC, which insisted that transparency should not be limited by legal battles over access to government records.
The party’s Publicity Secretary, Olawale Sadare, said Governor Makinde should allow the EFCC to perform its constitutional duties without obstruction.
Sadare said accountability is part of democratic governance and every public office holder must be ready to explain how public resources are managed.
He criticised the decision to seek a court order preventing the anti-graft agency from obtaining contract records. He said such action could create public doubt about openness in government.
“Apparently, Governor Makinde thought the mandate to govern conferred on him the rights to turn the entire state into his personal estate as he did not realise there would be need for accountability along the line,” Sadare said.
He also questioned why any governor would resist scrutiny over public finances.
“The question on the lips of many patriots now is: Why would a governor be afraid to render an account of resources given to him on trust to benefit the citizenry?” he asked.
The APC also expressed confidence that anti-corruption agencies would still carry out their legal responsibilities.
Sadare said legal processes would not stop public accountability forever.
“The truth is that he can only run, but he cannot hide. EFCC and other anti-graft agencies will do their work at the appropriate time,” he said.
He also alleged that contracts awarded by the Oyo State Government and other financial transactions should eventually be examined.
Sadare said the governor would one day account for all public funds received by the state during his years in office.
The controversy started after a Federal High Court sitting in Ibadan granted an application filed by the Oyo State Government. The court restrained the EFCC from obtaining details of contracts awarded by the Makinde administration from 2021 to date.
The governor’s media office said the order prevented the commission from investigating allegations or suspicions of corruption involving state officials and other persons through access to those records. The state government also maintained that the ruling was intended to stop what it considered unlawful access to official documents.
The court order and the APC’s reaction have placed public accountability at the centre of political discussion in Oyo State.
While the government insists it acted to protect its legal rights, the opposition maintains that public office holders should always be ready to account for the use of public resources.
The disagreement also places attention on the balance between legal protection of government records and the authority of anti-corruption agencies to seek information while carrying out their statutory duties.
As the legal process continues, both sides have held firmly to their positions, leaving the issue likely to attract further public and legal attention.