Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, has reportedly travelled to the United Kingdom to receive medical treatment after falling ill in recent days.

Multiple government sources confirmed the development on Tuesday, following earlier reports by Western Post that hinted at the minister’s possible medical trip abroad. One senior source familiar with the matter said, “It’s true, he has left already,” confirming that Edun departed Nigeria on Monday night.

The 69-year-old minister was said to have left Abuja for Lagos aboard a commercial flight before connecting to a British Airways flight to London later that night.

Until his departure, the Presidency had maintained that Edun was recuperating at his Abuja residence under the supervision of Nigerian doctors. Officials had also dismissed earlier rumours suggesting he had suffered a stroke or become incapacitated, clarifying that his condition, while serious, was being closely monitored.

A senior government aide told The PUNCH that the decision to seek medical attention abroad followed medical advice, though there are “no plans to replace him.”

Presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, confirmed on Sunday that Edun had fallen ill but was initially being treated in Nigeria. “Yes, he’s indisposed. Wale Edun is about 69 years old. He suddenly fell ill. As we are talking, he is in Nigeria. He is recuperating. He’s around,” he said at the time.

The Presidency also denied rumours that President Bola Tinubu was considering a replacement for the finance minister but confirmed that Edun would not attend this year’s World Bank and International Monetary Fund Annual Meetings in Washington, D.C.

According to a statement by Onanuge, the Central Bank Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, would be leading Nigeria’s delegation to the global financial summit, which began on Tuesday, October 14..

Appointed on August 28, 2023, Edun has played a central role in the Tinubu administration’s economic reform agenda, including fuel subsidy removal, foreign exchange unification, and fiscal policies aimed at stabilising the naira and tackling inflation.

Before his federal appointment, he served as Lagos State Commissioner for Finance under then-Governor Bola Tinubu from 1999 to 2004 and later co-founded Denham Management Limited, an investment banking firm.

As of the time of filing this report, the Ministry of Finance had yet to issue an official statement regarding his medical trip or health condition.