Abuja, Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria — President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, on Monday, March 16, 2026, formally administered the oath of office to Taiwo Oyedele as the new Minister of State for Finance.
The swearing-in ceremony took place at the President’s office inside the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, the official residence and workplace of Nigeria’s presidency. The event occurred at about 2:30 p.m. West African Time (WAT, GMT+1), according to a source who attended the brief ceremony.
Okay News reports that the appointment followed the confirmation of Oyedele’s nomination by the Senate of Nigeria five days earlier.
Observers at the presidential complex earlier saw Oyedele and his wife arriving at the Villa at about 2:09 p.m. WAT. Security personnel cleared them for entry before the ceremony began. The new minister wore a navy blue suit, while his wife appeared in white traditional attire.
The Senate confirmed Oyedele’s nomination on Wednesday, March 12, 2026, after a screening process that lasted more than two hours. During the session, lawmakers questioned him about fiscal policy, taxation, and economic reforms.
Following the deliberations, Godswill Akpabio, President of the Senate of Nigeria, announced the confirmation after members of the Committee of the Whole adopted the recommendation supporting his appointment.
President Tinubu had earlier forwarded Oyedele’s nomination to the Senate on Monday, March 3, 2026. In a letter addressed to Akpabio, the President requested legislative confirmation in line with Section 147(2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, which requires Senate approval for ministerial appointments.
Oyedele, 50, is from Ikaram in the Akoko area of Ondo State, southwestern Nigeria. He brings more than two decades of professional experience in fiscal policy development and tax administration.
Before joining the federal cabinet, he served as Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, a body set up by President Tinubu to redesign Nigeria’s tax framework and improve revenue management.
The committee was inaugurated in August 2023 and later produced four major legislative proposals aimed at restructuring Nigeria’s taxation system. The proposals included the Nigeria Tax Bill, the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill, and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Bill.
Nigeria’s National Assembly of Nigeria passed the four bills in 2025 after months of debates and committee reviews. President Tinubu signed them into law on Thursday, June 26, 2025.
The new tax laws officially took effect on Thursday, January 1, 2026, introducing wide-ranging reforms to the country’s revenue system. Among the measures was the consolidation of more than 60 different taxes into fewer than 10 main statutes.
The reforms also introduced relief measures for lower-income earners by setting zero personal income tax for Nigerians earning ₦800,000 (about $533) annually or less. In addition, small businesses with annual turnover below ₦50 million (about $33,333) were exempted from company income tax, capital gains tax, and withholding tax.
Authorities say the reforms were also designed to encourage job creation by offering incentives for companies that increase employment and raise wages.
Before entering government service, Oyedele spent 22 years working at the global professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. During that time, he rose to the position of Fiscal Policy Partner and Africa Tax Leader.
He holds a Higher National Diploma in Accountancy and Finance from Yaba College of Technology. He also earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Accounting from Oxford Brookes University in the United Kingdom.
Oyedele has also completed executive education programmes at the London School of Economics and Political Science, Yale University, the Gordon Institute of Business Science, and the Harvard Kennedy School.
In addition to his government role, he currently serves as a professor at Babcock University and as a visiting scholar at the Lagos Business School.
Oyedele replaces Doris Uzoka-Anite, who has been reassigned within the administration to the Federal Ministry of Budget and National Planning as Minister of State. The redeployment marks her third ministerial portfolio under the current administration.
During his Senate confirmation hearing, Oyedele told lawmakers that accepting the role came at a critical moment for the country’s public finances.
“This nomination is a call to serve at a critical time when Nigeria faces significant fiscal challenges and remarkable opportunities.”
“With over two decades of experience working with national governments, multilateral institutions and global corporations, my journey across the private sector, academia and public policy has focused on fiscal governance and economic transformation,” he told the lawmakers.
