The Presidency has made clarification about the fate of the ailing Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, stressing that the president was aware of the development but there were no plans to replace him at this time.
According a source, one senior government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, Edun’s condition was “serious but not critical,” adding that “doctors had been monitoring him closely and eventually recommended foreign treatment.”
“Mr. Edun has travelled to the United Kingdom for medical treatment,” another source close to the matter confirmed on Tuesday morning.
The development, first reported by Western Post, follows earlier speculation that the 69-year-old minister might seek treatment abroad after falling ill in recent days. A reliable source said, “It’s true, he has left already.”
Edun was said to have left Abuja for Lagos on Monday night aboard a commercial flight before connecting to London via British Airways later that evening.
Until his departure, presidency officials maintained that the finance minister was recuperating at his Abuja residence under the care of local doctors. They, however, dismissed reports suggesting he had suffered a stroke or become incapacitated.
Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga also acknowledged that the minister had fallen ill, confirming on Sunday that Edun was “indisposed but recovering in Nigeria.”
Amid his absence, the presidency announced that Central Bank Governor Olayemi Cardoso would lead Nigeria’s delegation to the World Bank and International Monetary Fund Annual Meetings in Washington, D.C., which began Tuesday, October 14.
Edun who was appointed in August 2023, has been a central figure in President Bola Tinubu’s economic reform agenda, spearheading key policies such as the removal of fuel subsidies, the unification of exchange rates, and fiscal strategies aimed at stabilising the naira and reducing inflation.
