Tinubu Nominates Oyedele as Finance Minister of State

President Bola Tinubu has nominated Dr Taiwo Oyedele as the new Minister of State for Finance. The nomination was sent to the Senate on Tuesday for confirmation.

This was made known in a statement issued by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.

If confirmed, Oyedele will replace Dr Doris Anite-Uzoka, who has been moved to the Ministry of Budget and National Planning as Minister of State.

The nomination took place in Abuja as part of changes within the Federal Executive Council. Oyedele, who is from Ikaram in Akoko, Ondo State, previously served as Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms.

He led the committee that reviewed and restructured Nigeria’s tax system.
The committee was set up in August 2023 and worked on new tax laws that reduced more than 60 different taxes to fewer than 10.

Among the changes introduced were zero income tax for Nigerians earning N800,000 or less per year and tax relief for small businesses with annual turnover below N50 million.

The reforms also included tax deductions for companies that employ new workers and increase wages for low-income staff. Agricultural businesses were granted a five-year tax holiday. These new tax laws took effect on January 1, 2026.

Oyedele, 50, is an economist, accountant and public policy expert. He studied Accountancy and Finance at Yaba College of Technology, where he earned a Higher National Diploma.

He later obtained a degree in Applied Accounting from Oxford Brookes University. He also attended executive programmes at the London School of Economics, Yale University, the Gordon Institute of Business Science and the Harvard Kennedy School.

Before his public service role, Oyedele worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers for 22 years. He joined the firm in 2001 and rose to become Fiscal Policy Partner and Africa Tax Leader.

He is also a professor at Babcock University in Ogun State and serves as a visiting scholar at the Lagos Business School.

As Minister of State for Finance, he is expected to work closely with the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, in managing fiscal policy, revenue generation, debt matters and economic planning.

His main task will include overseeing the implementation of the tax reforms introduced under his leadership.

Anite-Uzoka, who he is set to replace, had earlier served as Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment before moving to the Finance Ministry. She will now serve in the Ministry of Budget and National Planning.

The Senate is expected to screen Oyedele in the coming weeks. If approved, he will be sworn in and officially assume his new role in the administration.