Tinubu Swears In Taiwo Oyedele as Finance Minister of State

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Monday swore in Taiwo Oyedele as the Minister of State for Finance during a ceremony held at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa. The event took place in the President’s office around 2:30 p.m., shortly after Oyedele arrived at the Presidential Villa with his wife.

The appointment followed Oyedele’s confirmation by the Nigerian Senate five days earlier after lawmakers completed a screening session that lasted for more than two hours. The confirmation was announced by Senate President Godswill Akpabio after members adopted the recommendation of the Committee of the Whole through a voice vote.

President Tinubu had earlier submitted Oyedele’s nomination to the Senate on March 3 through a letter addressed to Akpabio. The request was made in line with Section 147(2) of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria, which requires legislative approval for ministerial appointments.

Oyedele, who is 50 years old, comes from Ikaram in Akoko area of Ondo State. He has built a long career in fiscal policy and tax administration, bringing more than two decades of experience in the field to his new position in government.

Before joining the cabinet, Oyedele served as chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms. The committee was responsible for designing a major restructuring of Nigeria’s tax system. It was inaugurated in August 2023 and later produced four executive bills aimed at reducing the large number of taxes in the country and simplifying the tax structure.

The bills prepared by the committee included the Nigeria Tax Bill, the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, the Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Bill, and the Joint Revenue Board Establishment Bill. These proposals were later passed by the National Assembly of Nigeria in 2025 after several debates and reviews.

President Tinubu signed the bills into law on June 26, 2025. The reforms officially took effect on January 1, 2026, introducing a new tax framework across the country. Among the changes introduced by the new laws was the removal of income tax for Nigerians earning N800,000 or less annually.

The reforms also created tax relief for small businesses with annual turnover below N50 million by exempting them from company income tax, capital gains tax, and withholding tax. Additional measures were introduced to support job creation and encourage employers to improve wages.

Earlier in his career, Oyedele spent 22 years working at PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he served as Fiscal Policy Partner and later became the Africa Tax Leader. His professional work in taxation and economic policy led to his appointment to lead the presidential tax reform committee.

Oyedele holds a Higher National Diploma in Accountancy and Finance from Yaba College of Technology and a Bachelor’s degree in Applied Accounting from Oxford Brookes University. He also completed executive programmes at institutions including London School of Economics, Yale University, Gordon Institute of Business Science and Harvard Kennedy School.

In addition to his policy work, Oyedele is currently a professor at Babcock University and also works as a visiting scholar at the Lagos Business School.

His appointment follows a cabinet reshuffle in which Doris Uzoka-Anite was moved to the Federal Ministry of Budget and National Planning as Minister of State. The change marks another adjustment within the current administration as the government continues to restructure key economic positions.