Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun. Photo credit: Daily Trust
Nigeria’s political support movement in the South West, the South West Democratic Agenda for Tinubu 2027, has launched a blistering attack on the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, accusing him of running the country into a fiscal dead-end with what it described as “a historic zero percent capital budget performance.”
In a statement issued on Monday and signed by its president, Otunba Adedayo Adewole, the group said Edun has not only failed President Bola Tinubu but has also betrayed the trust of millions of Nigerians who expected the economic management team to stabilise the nation’s finances.
The pressure group has demanded Edun’s resignation, arguing that his continued stay in office would only deepen Nigeria’s economic woes.
“Until this moment, capital budget performance under this administration is at zero. That is not a figure of speech, it is the stark reality of a failed economic team. This has never happened in our country before. Wale Edun should resign and go home because he has failed completely in his responsibility to the nation,” Adewole declared.
The group lamented that, despite borrowing at home and abroad, the federal government under Edun’s stewardship has been unable to service domestic debts or commence the implementation of the 2025 Appropriation Act, even as the nation enters the month of September.
“This is a disgraceful outcome. The administration before this, led by President Muhammadu Buhari, for all its flaws, was able to implement its own budget. Under Edun, Nigeria is drifting without any fiscal anchor. The country is now unable to activate its capital budget, and that is a damning failure of leadership,” Adewole said.
He noted that the Appropriation Act is not just a policy document but the “heartbeat of government’s social contract with the people,” and that refusing or failing to implement it amounts to “denying citizens the benefits of governance.”
“Capital projects mean roads, hospitals, schools, water supply, power, and infrastructure that make life livable. A zero percent performance is equal to zero progress. It means Nigerians are stranded while their government claims to be in charge,” the statement continued.
The group, which played a prominent role in the mobilisation that delivered the South West votes for Tinubu in the 2023 presidential election, said it was pained that the region’s support for the administration is now being rewarded with “reckless economic mismanagement.”
“This is not the Renewed Hope Nigerians were promised. This is renewed hardship. It is both ironic and tragic that a minister who was given so much trust by the president and the people has failed to deliver even the minimum of expectations,” Adewole stressed.
The group described the current economic hardship as “man-made and avoidable,” blaming it squarely on poor policy choices, failure to prioritise, and what it called “a deliberate indifference to the suffering of citizens.”
“Every day, Nigerians ask when capital projects will start. Every day, they wonder why their roads remain impassable, why hospitals lack equipment, why schools are collapsing, why power supply is epileptic. The answer lies in the reckless inability of the Finance Minister to get the engine of governance running. This must not be allowed to continue,” the statement added.
The political group also held the National Assembly accountable, warning lawmakers not to shield Edun from responsibility or treat the matter with levity.
“If the legislature allows this failure to pass without consequence, then it too will be complicit in the betrayal of Nigerians. The National Assembly passed the budget; it must now demand its implementation. Silence at this critical moment would amount to treachery against the people,” the group declared.
While reaffirming its unflinching loyalty to President Tinubu, the group urged the president to take urgent action to restore confidence in his economic team.
“Mr. President must remember that Nigerians voted for him, not for Wale Edun. The people’s mandate is not a license for failure. We therefore call on the president to replace Edun with someone capable of implementing bold, practical, and immediate fiscal solutions,” Adewole stated.
“If Edun remains, the suffering of Nigerians will remain. If Edun goes, then perhaps a new dawn can begin. For the sake of our nation, the legacy of this administration and the 2027 elections, he must resign and go home.”
