Nigeria has shaken up its economic leadership less than a year before general elections, replacing Finance Minister Wale Edun with tax reform architect Taiwo Oyedele in a move analysts say signals a deepening of President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda. Edun’s departure, officially attributed to health reasons, is widely seen as a dismissal, with insiders suggesting he fell out of favor over his commitment to fiscal discipline and opposition to restoring petroleum imports—a position that put him at odds with powerful figures around Tinubu. His three-year tenure included the controversial removal of fuel subsidies and a currency devaluation, which improved fiscal stability but worsened living costs for many Nigerians. His successor, Taiwo Oyedele, is seen as a technocrat with fresh ideas, but he now faces the delicate task of balancing fiscal discipline with rising public and political expectations.
FT
