After a short medical journey abroad, Wale Edun, Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, has arrived back in the country, thereby providing an end to building speculation about his health and recent absence from important government events.
A small video that appeared on social media on Sunday portrayed the minister in high spirits at Fraser Suites in Abuja, where he allegedly held talks with a delegation from Qatar.
With the presence of the Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment, Jumoke Oduwole, the meeting aimed at strengthening economic collaboration and investment potential between both countries.
The private session is part of continuing conversations aimed at increasing Nigeria’s bilateral commerce and luring foreign investment to support infrastructure and industrial expansion, The News Chronicle gathered.
In the video, Edun looked to be quite fit as he greeted visitors before the speeches started.
His last absence sparked public discussion when claims surfaced he went abroad for medical care. Earlier reports stated that Edun had departed Abuja for Lagos last week before going to treatment abroad.
Later, President’s spokesman Bayo Onanuga verified that the minister had been “indisposed” and was encouraged to take a vacation to fully heal.
Central Bank Governor Olayemi Cardoso headed Nigeria’s delegation to the World Bank and IMF yearly conferences in Washington, D.C., owing to his health-related absence.
Given his significant contribution to Nigeria’s economic management team, this only stoked public interest in Edun’s condition.
The minister, though, subsequently showed up in a video at the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair in London speaking to visitors at the O’DA Art Gallery stall. Though it swiftly went viral and so allayed worries on his health, the video also opened discussions on his absence from office.
Onanuga clarified the situation via his X handle, saying Edun was on an “officially approved few days of rest” in the United Kingdom and noting it’s a much-needed respite from the “rigors of running the Nigerian economy.”
Edun is expected to resume full responsibilities upon his return to Nigeria, including driving continuing fiscal and monetary policy changes under President Bola Tinubu’s government.
His return is seen as an indication of stability in the government’s efforts to stabilize the naira, contain inflation, and rebuild investor confidence in Africa’s biggest economy.
