Four reasons Tinubu sacked Wale Edun as finance minister

THERE are 4 major reasons why President Bola Tinubu sacked Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun. President Tinubu approved a minor reshuffle of his cabinet on Tuesday, removing Edun, to the consternation of analysts and market watchers.

He also removed Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Mr Ahmed Dangiwa, from his position.

According to a memo from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Taiwo Oyedele has been appointed as the new minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy. The memo directed the outgoing ministers to hand over powers to their respective successors or supervising officials.

Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr George Akume, said the changes were aimed at improving coordination and strengthening delivery across key sectors of the economy under the Renewed Hope Agenda.

READ ALSO: Wale Edun aligns with Economy Post: Nigeria must cut debt, build strong domestic revenue

“These changes are aimed at strengthening cohesion, synergy in governance as well as achieving more impactful delivery on the economy to Nigerians, through the Renewed Hope Agenda,” Akume stated.

He added that President Tinubu acted in line with his constitutional powers as provided under Sections 147 and 148 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

Tinubu thanked the outgoing ministers for their services to the nation and wished them well in their future endeavours, noting that the process of cabinet reinvigoration would remain continuous.

Why Tinubu sacked Edun

A number of Nigerians may be wondering why Tinubu sacked Edun, one of his close confidants. But anyone observing the events of the last one year should never be surprised with Edun’s removal.

First, the thinking of the presidency has been that Edun was unable to meet major targets. In 2024, Edun missed his revenue target and plunged Nigeria into deficit. During a session to discuss the 2026–2028 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) on December 16, 2025, Edun revealed that the Nigerian government projected N40.8 trillion in revenue for 2025 to finance the N54.9 trillion ‘budget of restoration’ but was only able to generate N10.7 trillion.

The announcement peeved the presidency for two reasons. One, it made no sense for the minister to achieve merely 26.2 percent of his revenue target. Two, it was inappropriate for the minister to gleefully announce such gargantuan failure before the general public. Sources in the presidency told Economy Post that several Tinubu loyalists point to this singular action to justify why Edun should be removed from the cabinet.

To underline how disappointed Tinubu was with his ex-finance commissioner in Lagos, he handed over the de facto powers to ex-Minister of State for Finance, Dr Doris Nkiruka Uzoka-Anite. Subsequently, Ms Uzoka-Anite was charged with the responsibility of improving Nigeria’s fiscal position.

READ ALSO: IMF meetings: Edun seeks global backing as inflation risks mount

She held several meetings with all the revenue-generating agencies in order to ensure that she was on the same page as all of them and ensure the full realisation of her biggest mandate.

The second reason for Mr Edun’s removal is that he had no cordial relationship with junior ministers assigned to his ministry. Presidential sources revealed that after the handover of de facto powers to Dr Uzoka-Anite by President Tinubu, the relationship between Edun and the junior minister worsened, with both failing to have healthy communications in the ministry. This led to poor coordination across the board in the ministry.

The frosty relationship also led to the slow approval of funding to several Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the government and contractors, prompting the protests seen at both Ministry of Finance and the National Assembly last year.

“A lot of people believe that the poor relationship slowed down the government of President Tinubu and the Renewed Hope Agenda. Also, several MDAs believe that Edun is slow to approving contracts and releasing funds for projects. This has slowed down the government,” said a presidential source.

Edun was also said to have had a frosty relationship with Oyedele after his appointment as junior minister. Oyedele was appointed basically to assist Edun raise revenue through taxes. Sources said Edun was not happy that the presidency felt more at home with Oyedele, who has an expertise in tax.

Third, Edun is said to be slower now than when he was commissioner for finance in Lagos, owing to ill-health. One presidential source noted, ” Edun is now older, about 70, and the enormity of the tasks of coordinating the economy and the nation’s finances were weighing on his health. He has not been too strong healthwise.”

READ ALSO: Edun says Nigeria’s painful reforms yielding results but acknowledges significant hardship

Fourth, the presidency thought that Edun was not in the mould of Ngozi Okonjoe-Iweala, who was in charge of everything from customs’ revenue to ports’ revenue under President Goodluck Jonathan. Sources said President Tinubu wants someone who will control several levers of the economy to ensure the realisation of his promises to Nigerians. Edun, they say, is not that man.

More so, budget implementation has been very poor under Edun. Up till now, the Nigerian government is still implementing the 2025 budget and is yet to conclude the 2024 fiscal year. This has embarrassed the government of President Tinubu and cast it in the mould of incompetence. Several pundits believe that the Ministry of Finance under him has been disorganised in its approach and failed to rally other MDAs to implement several government programmes.

A former staff member of the World Bank and economist said that several development projects have not been implemented, resulting in slow growth and rising poverty among the populace. Though Edun was not directly in charge of the budget, he was after all the coordinating minister of the economy and should have ensured the smooth implementation of the budget in line with the president’s objectives.

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moukd