Adebayo Olawale Edun, popularly known as Wale Edun, a seasoned financial expert with extensive experience in the banking sector, has been appointed Nigeria’s new minister of finance and coordinating minister of economy.
Part of the first batch of the 28-man ministerial list that President Bola Tinubu delivered to the Senate was Edun, a former commissioner of finance in Lagos State and a presidential adviser on monetary policies.
Wale Edun already has his work cut out for him, as his official primary responsibility of combating the rising inflation and increasing cost of living in Africa’s largest economy will be a terrific one.
As a result of the increasing prices of everything from food to petrol to rent, Nigeria’s inflation rate increased in July to its highest level in over 18 years.
According to a July WorldBank report, inflation brought an additional four million Nigerians into poverty in the first five months of this year. Due to the deteriorating macro nature of Nigeria’s macroeconomic fundamentals, Edun is expected soon to experience significant pressure from Nigerians.
Wale Edun has professional experience in both domestic and international merchant banking, corporate finance, economics, and international finance. He holds a first and Master’s degree from the Universities of London and Sussex in Economics.
His experience in corporate finance, economics, and international finance spans more than 25 years, and his knowledge is well-acknowledged.
He held important positions at Chase Merchant Bank, including Head of Treasury and Deputy Head of Corporate Finance, where he oversaw Treasury and Money Market operations and had a significant impact on Capital Market and Financial Advisory operations for regional affiliates and subsidiaries of multinational corporations.
Wale acquired invaluable global expertise at the Lehman Brothers and Chase Manhattan Capital Markets Corporation on Wall Street in New York, USA.
Through the distinguished Young Professionals program, Wale Edun began working for the World Bank/IFC in Washington, DC, in 1986.
He worked on economic and financial plans for several nations in Latin America and the Caribbean, including the Dominican Republic, Trinidad, Indonesia, and India in the Far East, while at the World Bank.
Wale Edun has been the chairman of Chapel Hill Denham Group since March 2008. He was an executive director of Stanbic IBTC Plc, (formerly Investment Banking & Trust Company Limited) upon his return to Nigeria in 1989.
He also founded Denham Management Limited in 1994.
In addition to these positions, he actively engages as a director in several organizations. Wale Edun is the Chairman of the Ogoni Trust Fund’s Board of Trustees, which oversees the environmental restoration of Ogoniland in Nigeria’s Niger Delta.
Wale Edun actively contributes to society as the creator of Denham Management Limited and the Chairman of Livewell Initiative, an NGO in the health sector. He also serves as a Trustee for Sisters Unite for Children, an NGO that helps impoverished kids.
Inflation in Nigeria reached an 18-year high in July. As Nigerians deal with pervasive insecurity, a growing debt load, high unemployment, and weak growth, all of which have heightened tension among the already distressed populace, hopefully, Wale Edun has the aptitude to deal with Nigeria’s economic problems.
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