Three months before the ministerial list was submitted to the National Assembly for ratification, Abuja Politico had correctly predicted the emergence of Wale Edun as Tinubu’s choice for Finance Minister.
The article which was published on May 7, 22 days before Tinubu took the oath of office, exemplifies the strength of Abuja Politico, which is to go beyond the surface to probe and unearth information crucial for decision-making at all levels of politics and business.
Below is an edited version of the report:
As the May 29 swearing-in date of the president-elect, Bola Tinubu, draws near, speculations are rife that Nigeria’s next finance minister could be his long-time ally and finance commissioner during his eight years as governor of Lagos State, Wale Edun.
Speculations to this effect emerged after Edun was spotted at the last Spring Meetings of the World Bank and IMF.
Further hints came after his name came up as one of the celebrated technocrats mentioned in Tinubu’s transition council.
Sources close to the transition council disclosed that he could be brought back to perform his magic in the nation’s financial climate since he performed creditably in Lagos.
It was also gathered that since Tinubu won the presidential election on February 25, 2023, Edun has become a go-to person based on their relationship.
Edun is said to have “the ears of the President-elect.”
A national daily reported last month that, “since Tinubu left the seat of government, their relationship has gone from boss and subordinate to two close allies. It was revealed that Tinubu had twice in the past recommended him for a federal job, and on the two occasions, the astute banker was eased out”.
Olawale (Wale) has a background in merchant banking, corporate finance, economics, and international finance at both the national and international levels.
Wale is the Chair of Chapel Hill Denham Group, Lagos, a leading investment bank. He was an executive director of the Lagos merchant bank, Investment Banking & Trust Company Limited, now Stanbic IBTC.
Wale is the founder and Chair of the Lagos Boxing Hall of Fame, a registered not-for-profit organization that runs amateur boxing in Lagos in conjunction with the Lagos Amateur Boxing Association. He is also the Chair of Livewell Initiative, a not-for-profit organization that specializes in health literacy advocacy and practical training in Nigeria, and a Trustee of Sisters Unite for Children, a not-for-profit institution that focuses on helping street children in Lagos. Wale is the president of Repton, a long-established amateur boxing club based in London’s East End.
