Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday sacked his finance minister and replaced him with a tax expert, as the head of state seeks to shore up support for his sweeping economic reforms.

Wale Edun, 70, who served as finance commissioner during Tinubu's first-term tenure as Lagos governor between 1999 and 2004, was replaced by Taiwo Oyedele, 50, a former PricewaterhouseCoopers tax expert.

Oyedele, who only resumed as junior finance minister on March 16, played a central role in the administration's tax overhaul, which took effect at the start of the year.

A statement from the secretary to the Nigerian government announcing Edun's removal gave no reason for the decision.

Edun should hand over office functions by April 23

"All handing over and taking over processes should be completed on or before close of business on Thursday," the statement said.

Edun championed several reforms in the Tinubu administration, including the decision that all revenues from petroleum operations be paid directly into the federation account to plug leakages.

The decision barred the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited from making deductions from oil proceeds.

Edun has also been vocal about the perils of a high-interest rate environment in developing economies, saying it could hurt economic reforms.