Former Presidential aide, Laolu Akande, has claimed that former Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, resigned from his position over President Bola Tinubu’s reliance on Taiwo Oyedele.
PrimeTimes Nigeria reports that Akande, during an interview on Sunrise Daily on Channels Television, said Tinubu had long resolved to replace Edun, citing health concerns as part of the rationale.
However, Edun, President Tinubu’s estranged ally, was initially reluctant to leave his position.
According to Akande, the shift in Tinubu’s confidence was attributed to the growing influence of younger technocrats within the administration, particularly Taiwo Oyedele and Zacch Adedeji.
He said both figures had become central to the administration’s economic direction, earning the president’s trust through their policy contributions.
Akande explained that tensions had emerged between Edun and the technocrats over differing policy approaches.
These disagreements, the former presidential aide said, increasingly drew presidential attention to Oyedele’s recommendations, often at odds with Edun’s stance.
Akande stressed that Edun was displeased about Tinubu’s decision to listen more to Oyedele.
While referring to Oyedele and Adedeji, he said, “The president depends on those two very much.
“For the most part, the president was listening to Oyedele more than he was listening to Edun. Now, that didn’t go down well with Edun who was the Minister of Finance and a longer ally of the president. So, over the years, there has been conflicts between what the younger technocrats are saying and what Edun wanted to do.”
He added that Oyedele’s eventual positioning within the Ministry of Finance signalled a clear policy direction and reinforced Tinubu’s evolving preference for a new generation of economic advisers.