Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, has reportedly travelled to the United Kingdom for medical treatment, following days of speculation about his health.
Multiple government sources confirmed to The PUNCH on Tuesday morning that the minister, who had been receiving care from Nigerian doctors in Abuja, left the country on Monday night.
According to the sources, Edun first flew from Abuja to Lagos via a commercial flight before boarding a British Airways plane to London later that evening.
His trip abroad follows earlier denials by Presidency officials, who insisted as recently as Sunday that the 69-year-old minister was recuperating at home and had not been flown out of the country. They had also dismissed rumours suggesting that he suffered a stroke or was incapacitated.
A senior government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told The PUNCH that Edun’s condition had worsened slightly, prompting doctors to recommend foreign medical care. “Yes, he’s indisposed. It’s a bit serious, but not a stroke. As of Sunday, he was still in his Abuja residence,” the source said.
Another aide confirmed that President Bola Tinubu has been closely monitoring Edun’s situation but added that there are “no plans whatsoever to replace him.”
The President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, had earlier confirmed the minister’s illness but noted that he was initially being treated locally. “Yes, he’s indisposed. Wale Edun is about 69 years old. He suddenly fell ill. As we are talking, he is recuperating here in Nigeria,” Onanuga said on Sunday.
Although the Presidency has ruled out any replacement for Edun, it confirmed that he would not attend the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) Annual Meetings currently taking place in Washington, D.C. Instead, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Olayemi Cardoso, is leading the Nigerian delegation to the global financial event.
Appointed on August 28, 2023, Edun has been a central figure in President Tinubu’s economic reform team. He has overseen key fiscal policies, including the removal of fuel subsidies, unification of the exchange rate, and measures aimed at stabilising the naira and reducing inflation.
Before his ministerial appointment, Edun served as Lagos State Commissioner for Finance under Tinubu’s administration from 1999 to 2004 and later co-founded Denham Management Limited, an investment banking firm.
As of press time, the Federal Ministry of Finance had not issued any official statement regarding the minister’s medical trip or his current health status.
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