Former Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Solomon Dalung, has said the former Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, was not suited to the political environment surrounding President Bola Tinubu.
Dalung described Edun as a man of integrity whose values were incompatible with the prevailing system, suggesting that his exit from government was inevitable.
“Wale Edun is somebody who has integrity. He’s a misfit into a political arrangement like the one we have in place.
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“I think he tolerated it to the extent that his integrity was going to break and he had to throw in the towel,” he said.
While acknowledging the official explanation that Edun resigned on health grounds, Dalung hinted that there were deeper issues behind the decision.
“What we know is more than what they are trying to tell Nigerians,” he stated.
The Presidency had earlier said Edun stepped down voluntarily after submitting his resignation on his 70th birthday, citing health concerns.
Dalung, however, said Edun’s removal signals uncertainty within the President’s inner circle.
“Nobody is as close to Wale Edun as to Bola Tinubu. He has been with Tinubu for a very long time. And if he could be handled in this manner, there’s nobody jumping around Tinubu,” he said.
He further described Edun as one of the most admirable individuals he encountered while in government, recalling their close interactions during their time in office.
“When I was a minister, he visited me every day in my office. He’s one of the best Nigerians. When he was appointed minister, I wanted to tell him that I don’t envy him,” Dalung added.
Dalung also revealed that his relationship with Edun became distant after his appointment, noting that the former minister stopped responding to his calls.
“The day they inaugurated him, he has not picked my call. I didn’t want to bother about that because I wanted to allow him to finish with his Tinubu minister. When he finished, we’ll continue with our friendship,” he said.
The former minister also reacted to developments within the African Democratic Congress (ADC), describing as commendable the idea of adopting Peter Obi as a presidential candidate under the proposed “OK Movement,” while maintaining neutrality.
“Fantastic and wonderful idea. If we end up with that as a decision of the party, it’s the best. But as a party leader, I cannot be advocating for that because I have so many candidates in the party. I must be very fair to every one of them,” he said.
He warned against internal manipulation within the party, stressing the need for fairness and transparency.
“There is nothing that the ADC will do that will be a semblance of injustice of what we left in APC. Should we see that, the ADC is going to be in trouble. We want to give to the younger generation a better legacy,” Dalung said.
