FACT-CHECK: Viral Claim That APC Held Burial-like Ceremony for Wale Edun is Misleading!
BY: Sebiotimo Abdullateef
Claim:
All Progessive Congress(APC) members conducted an open burial for former Minister of Finance, Mr. Wale Edun.
Verdict:
The claim is Misleading. There is no evidence that the activity in the video was an APC-organised one or connected to Wale Edun removal. The footage was taken out of context and misrepresented.
Full Text:
A viral post on X (formerly Twitter) by a verified user NEFERTITI (@firstladyship) claimed that the All Progressives Congress (APC) staged an “open burial” for Wale Edun despite him being alive. The claim was accompanied by a video showing individuals signing a condolence register beside a portrait bearing the former minister of finance and the coordinating minister of the economy’s name with the caption:
“The APC held an open burial for Wale Edun who is still alive. This is scary & I’m speechless. How do you explain this to Wale’s wife & his family? ‘Obidients are toxic’ no reach this one.”
The tweet made at exactly 12AM on 22nd of April has since then gone viral, recording over 406,000 views, alongside thousands of reposts and engagements.
Responding to the tweet, a verified user, Udochukwu replied, “I thought they said the economy has ‘stabilized’? Why are they burying the man who stabilized it?”
Another X account with the name, “PETER OBI’s Publicist”, while responding to the tweet and trying to give reasons for the minister’s dismissal and eventual action by the APC members said, “He Called for the audit of NNPC’s missing ₦210 trillion. He said the FG missed the 2025 revenue target by ₦30 trillion. He said BOLA’s budget execution is poor. Don’t worry WALE EDUN! ADC PARTY is calling you for telling the truth…”
In a bid to counter the claim, Kunle Stephen, another X user, in response, said, “If you ever believe APC did this, then you are more fooIish to be used as sample for fooIishness. We will be here anyway.”
As a result of the politically charged language of the post, the back and forth of the comments on the video and the potential to cause misinformation, Fact Check Africa decided to verify the claim.
Recall that Wale Edun was appointed Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy in August 2023 under the administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu. There were reports of his removal on April 21, 2026, though later said to be due resignation by the former minister himself. This incident triggered widespread reactions across political and public spaces and created avenue for unverified claims to gain an audience.
Verification: A search across credible media platforms was conducted by FactCheck Africa. The result revealed that no report of any such event was reported to be linked to APC. Given the unusual and provocative nature of the alleged act, it would likely have attracted media coverage and official responses if it had occurred as claimed.
While examining the video further, it was observed that there was no clear indicator in the video that links the individuals in the video to the APC, the Ministry of Finance, or any government institution. The participants are not recognisable public officials, and there are no visible party symbols or other signs that could stand that they are political insiders or government staff.
Going further with the verification, FactCheck Africa carried a reverse image search on keyframes from the video. The result indicated that the footage surfaced in the media before his removal. Upon cross-referencing with earlier posts, we found out that the video first surfaced in the media during a protest by the All Indigenous Contractors Association of Nigeria to draw attention to unpaid government contracts in December 2025 by contractors in Abuja under the auspices of the.
The dummy burial ceremony in the video was at that time understood to be a form of protest action rather than a reaction to any political event. There is no evidence linking that event to the April 2026 developments involving Wale Edun.
Media organisations such as Punch, Daily Trust, The Nation and others also reported the protest at that time.
Conclusion
The claim that the APC held an “open burial” for Wale Edun is not supported by evidence. The video used to support the claim predates his removal and is unrelated to the political event in question. Its circulation in this context reflects a misrepresentation of footage to fit a misleading narrative.
