Wale Edun: Tinubu ministerial nominee lawmakers grilled the most, who is this man?  

It is not a surprise that Wale Edun was asked the most questions during Senate screening, and received the longest grilling. His was what a screening should look like.

Lawmakers took turns to ask Edun questions on Nigeria’s monetary policies, fiscal policies, exchange rates, inflation, and other economic jargon. And after over an hour of rigourous questions and answers, Edun discharged himself as the man familiar with his turf, which is the economy.

Edun is one of three nominees whose portfolios can easily be predicted. The other two are; Ali Pate, most likely, a Minister of Health, and Lateef Fagbemi, also most likely, Attorney General of the Federation.

So, the senators who grilled Edun grilled him on the basis that he would be appointed a Minister of Finance. If Tinubu puts in another ministry other than Finance, he would have betrayed the excitement of Nigerians.

So, why so much excitement about Edun heading the Finance Ministry?

For so long, Nigeria has suffered the lack of an expert managing the Finance sector after Ngozi Okonjo Iweala left in 2015.

Recall that Ngozi Okonjo Iweala who was the Finance Minister in the government of Olusegun Obasanjo, and that of Goodluck Jonathan, expanded her portfolio to include Coordinating Minister of the Economy.  So, the possibility of Edun taking the role of Finance Minister appears to attract a lot of interest.

Olawale Edun has a background in merchant banking, corporate finance, economics and international finance at both national and international levels.

Edun is the Chair of ChapelHillDenham Group, Lagos, a leading investment bank. He was an executive director of Lagos merchant bank, Investment Banking & Trust Company Limited, now Stanbic IBTC.

He is the founder and Chair of Lagos Boxing Hall of Fame, a registered not-for-profit organisation that runs amateur boxing in Lagos in conjunction with the Lagos Amateur Boxing Association.

He is also the Chair of Livewell Initiative, a not-for-profit organisation that specialises in health literacy advocacy and practical training in Nigeria, and a Trustee of Sisters Unite for Children, a not-for-profit institution that focuses on helping street children in Lagos.

Edun holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics at the University of London and earned a Master’s Degree in Economics from the University of Sussex, England.

He served as the Honourable Commissioner for Finance in Lagos State for two terms (1999-2007) during Tinubu’s tenure as Governor of Lagos State. He currently serves as the Special Adviser on Monetary Policies. Simply put, he is the brain behind most of the monetary policy changes taking place at the CBN.  He is expected to be appointed Finance Minister.