Tinubu Asks Wale Edun To Resign, But Reluctant To Fire Him – Empowered Newswire

• The Chief Bisi Akande connection

 

• Finance minister busy trying to keep job

Whichever way you look at it, Mr Wale Edun, Nigeria’s finance minister, is effectively distracted from his job as a key cabinet member of the Tinubu administration.

 

Edun has been running from pillar to post in the last couple of weeks since President Bola Ahmed Tinubu mildly but firmly asked him to resign his position as finance minister and coordinating minister of the economy.

 

Not only is the news widespread that the President has asked the minister of state for finance, Mrs Doris Uzoka Anite, to assume significant responsibilities earlier delegated to Edun, but the President’s concern about Edun’s performance is at least more than a year old. This dates back to 2024, when the President contemplated naming Mr Taiwo Oyedele as minister of state for finance in order to fill some of the gaps he felt Edun was leaving in the job.

 

A last minute rally of political influencers around the President then turned the tide in favour of Doris Uzoka Anite, who became minister of state instead of Oyedele, the tax reform advocate. Incidentally, she herself had been ranked as a poor performer in her former role in the trade and industry portfolio and was marked to be fired before the tide changed in her favour.

 

But Uzoka Anite has now had to step up to handle some of Edun’s responsibilities, while the President is still reluctant to outrightly fire Edun, his long time ally of many years, including as a cabinet member in the Lagos State government when Tinubu was governor.

 

Close observers of the Tinubu administration told Empowered Newswire that Edun has been seeking out people close to President Tinubu, and those who have his ear, to reconsider the plan to relieve him of his job.

 

One of the people Edun hopes will help him prevail on President Tinubu is Chief Bisi Akande, who has been seen again publicly and prominently with the President in recent times.

 

Edun’s calculation, according to sources, is based on the fact that it was Chief Bisi Akande who prevailed on Tinubu to appoint Sunday Dare as special adviser last year, after Dare had been sidelined until the cabinet reshuffle of 2024.

 

Dare, who was perhaps the most visible and prominent aide of Tinubu since he left office as governor of Lagos State, had an agreement with Tinubu to stay with him until such a time he was ready to run for President. But Dare violated that gentleman’s agreement, to Tinubu’s displeasure.

 

Edun’s expectation now, Empowered Newswire can report authoritatively, is that since it was Chief Bisi Akande who persuaded Tinubu to bring Dare back, he might be able to do the same for Edun in his own, slightly different circumstances.