Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, has returned to Abuja after receiving medical treatment in the United Kingdom, following weeks of rumours surrounding his health.
A brief video shared by the Nigeria Television Authority on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday showed Edun arriving at Fraser Suites in Abuja. The caption read: “The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, sighted on Sunday looking hale and hearty.”
According to reports, Edun met privately with a Qatari delegation alongside the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, at the hotel on Sunday.
The finance chief had travelled to the UK on 13 October for what government sources described as a “serious but manageable” ailment. He was later spotted at an art exhibition in London, fuelling speculation about his condition and prompting the Presidency to confirm that he had indeed sought medical attention abroad.
Before his trip, officials had maintained that Edun was recuperating at home in Abuja under the supervision of local doctors. Presidency insiders dismissed online rumours that he had suffered a stroke or become incapacitated.
One senior government source told The PUNCH earlier this month: “Yes, he’s indisposed. It’s a bit serious, but it’s not stroke. As I’m talking to you, he’s in his house. He’s not been flown anywhere.” The source added that the possibility of foreign medical care was under consideration at the time—a decision that was eventually made.
Presidential adviser Bayo Onanuga also confirmed that Edun, aged 69, had “suddenly fallen ill” but initially received treatment in Nigeria. He stressed that there were “no plans to replace him,” contrary to reports claiming President Bola Tinubu was considering alternatives.
Edun’s illness forced him to miss the 2025 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Washington, D.C., where Central Bank Governor Olayemi Cardoso led the Nigerian delegation.
Since his appointment in August 2023, Edun has been central to the Tinubu administration’s economic reform agenda, overseeing the removal of fuel subsidies, unification of foreign exchange rates, and fiscal adjustments aimed at stabilising the naira.
A former Lagos State Commissioner for Finance under Tinubu between 1999 and 2004, Edun later co-founded the investment firm Denham Management Limited.
As of Sunday evening, the Ministry of Finance had yet to issue an official statement confirming the minister’s return.
