Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), will head Nigeria’s delegation to the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) annual meetings in Washington, D.C., after Finance Minister Wale Edun was ruled out due to illness, the presidency said on Sunday.
Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on information and strategy, said Edun — who also serves as coordinating minister of the economy — is “indisposed.” Onanuga added that Edun remains in Nigeria but “may eventually be flown abroad for treatment.”
The Nigerian delegation will include Doris Uzoka-Anite, minister of state for finance, among others, Onanuga said. The meetings open on Monday and will feature key events including the Development Committee plenary session on October 16 and the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) meetings on October 17. Other scheduled activities include regional briefings, press conferences and fora on international development, the global economy and financial markets.
Separately, the World Bank’s Nigeria Development Update (NDU), published on October 8, urged Nigeria to audit the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited and consider increases in health taxes and value-added tax (VAT). The multilateral lender also recommended that recent macroeconomic reforms be translated into tangible improvements in citizens’ living standards.
