How Tinubu Quietly Demoted Minister Of Finance Wale Edun As Uzoka-Anite, Minister of State Takes Charge (pics)

Wale Edun loses ground in Tinubu’s Finance Ministry reset

Doris Uzoka-Anite, the Minister of State for Finance, has assumed leadership of the federal finance ministry following a major reshuffle approved by President Bola Tinubu, which shifts key oversight duties from Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy.

InsideBusinessNG earlier reported that the Presidency was looking for a replacement for Wale Edun after his illness led him to hand over his duties to the Minister of State, a move seen as a major shake-up in the country’s economic management structure.

Presidential sources disclosed that the decision came amid rising concerns within the Presidency about delays and inefficiencies in carrying out fiscal policies, such as managing government revenue, executing the budget, and engaging with key economic stakeholders.

A State House memo dated December 4, 2025, addressed to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, and signed by the President’s Private Secretary, Damilotun Aderemi, directed the immediate operationalisation of an updated mandate for the Minister of State for Finance.

The memo, titled “Updated Responsibilities of the Honourable Minister of State for Finance,” instructed the SGF to issue the necessary circulars to give effect to the new structure.

Under the revised framework, Uzoka-Anite is now to oversee domestic financial operations of the Federation, including revenue generation, revenue allocation and all domestic debt management. She is also assigned additional mandates covering home finance, technical services, cash management, revenue sharing among the three tiers of government through the Federation Account, oversight of the Nigerian Customs Service, development finance, and comprehensive domestic debt management.

The expanded role of the Minister of State was designed to fast-track fiscal decision-making and address what the Presidency views as persistent sluggishness in the execution of economic policies.

Sources further indicated that Edun had increasingly struggled to drive the government’s fiscal agenda with the urgency demanded by the worsening economic climate. The President was said to be particularly displeased with the slow pace of implementation of the 2024 budget, as well as the near-total non-implementation of the 2025 budget, especially the delays in releasing funds for capital projects.

According to officials, these shortcomings have attracted widespread public criticism and undermined government efforts to stimulate growth, improve infrastructure and build confidence in its economic reforms, including the recently introduced tax policies.

Although the memo was meant to take immediate effect, administrative steps to formally transfer the affected departments and functions were yet to be concluded at the Ministry of Finance as of press time.

Despite the tension surrounding the development, Presidency insiders said President Tinubu is not inclined to remove Edun from the cabinet outright, in order to avoid the perception of humiliating a long-time ally. However, the reassignment of powers is widely seen as a vote of no confidence in the Finance Minister’s ability to continue steering the nation’s fiscal operations alone.

As uncertainty lingers at the Ministry, stakeholders are watching closely to see whether the new structure will translate into quicker budget releases, improved revenue mobilisation and stronger economic coordination before the end of the year.

Another reason is that Wale Edun publicly contradicted President Tinubu’s statement that his government haa met the targetted revenue for the year 2005.

Wale Edun’s alleged offence against the Tinubu’s presidency is his public utterances: one of which is his acknowledging financial discrepancies in Nigeria’s budget at the expense of the narrative put out by the president himself. This misdemeanor whether due to his professionalism or sincerity is seen as a punishable offence by the presidency who now consider Wale Edun’s as a threat to the financial records and secrets of the Tinubu’s administration.

Specifically, Wale Edun’s admission that the presidency could not meet the 2025 revenue target of N30 trillion as well as his previous statement in which he argued that there was a gap between proposed budget fundings and realities is seen by the presidency as a direct indictment of president Bola Ahmed Tinubu because Edun’s statement is not seen merely as a financial advice but a contradictions of the president himself