Why Tinubu Removed Edun And Dangiwa As Ministers

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President Bola Tinubu has sacked Wale Edun, Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, and Ahmed Musa Dangiwa, Minister of Housing and Urban Development.

A memo signed by George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, stated that the two cabinet members, were to leave the federal cabinet. Taiwo Oyedele, recently made Minister of State for Finance, has been upgraded to substantive Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, while Muttaqha Rabe Darma has been named as the ministerial nominee and minister designate for the Housing and Urban Development. Dangiwa was directed to hand over to the Minister of State in the ministry.

According to the memo quoted by Yomi Odunuga, Special Adviser, Media and Publicity to the SGF, “All handing over and taking over processes should be completed on or before close of business on Thursday 23rd April, 2026.”

Explaining the President’s decision, Akume said, “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.”

He said the President, in approving the cabinet reshuffle, has fully exercised his powers as conferred on him by Sections 147 and 148 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999, as amended).

Tinubu thanked the outgoing ministers for their services to the nation while wishing them the best in all their future endeavours. He equally said “the process of reinvigoration shall be continuous”, implying that more ministers may be sacked.

As the regime marks its third anniversary on May 29, the searchlight has been on the management of the economy. Under Edun’s watch, Nigeria slumped to the fifth largest economy in Africa in the current ranking.
The All Progressives Congress inherited the economy from then President Goodluck Jonathan with Nigeria’s economy at number one in Africa. The economy went into recession two times under President Muhammadu Buhari due to policy somersaults. Floating the rate of the Naira and removal of petroleum subsidy by President Tinubu on May 29, 2023, at Eagles Square further crumbled the economy.

Edun, who was appointed after the act, spent much of his time in damage control. But he could not rein in inflation nor return the Naira to a respectable count against the Dollar.
Similarly, Edun could not stamp his authority on the management of the annual budget. For the first time since independence, Nigeria is implementing three budgets – 2024, 2025 and 2026 – simultaneously.

Edun could not provide accurate statistics on budget performance. Funding of the Coastal Road Mega project put at ₦15 trillion is shrouded in secrecy. Funding of capital projects was muted. The National Assembly complained of non-implementation of capital budgets, including constituency projects. The implementation of the 2025 budget was put at below 30 percent.

Doris Uzoka-Anite was sacked as Minister of State for Finance after a spat with the National Assembly over the implementation of the 2025 budget. She could not provide satisfactory answers to the issues raised by the lawmakers.
Shortly after, she was replaced by Taiwo Oyedele as Minister of State.

She was seen as a scapegoat as Edun was the one who managed the economy. She assumed office on Nov 2, 2024. As Minister of State for Finance, she focused on tax reform, revenue management, and public debt management. She was Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment from August 2023 to October 2024. After Ministry of Finance, she was moved to the Ministry of Budget and National Planning, as the Minister of State, her third portfolio in the administration.

Oyedele, before his appointment as Minister of State, was the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, which overhauled Nigeria’s tax system. An economist, accountant and public policy expert, he schooled at Yale University and London School of Economics and Political Science, among others.

His elevation as Minister of Finance and Co-ordinating Minister of the Economy by President Tinubu is seen as an effort to shore up the economy going into the last year of his first tenure, an election year.