By Our Reporter
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Monday swore in Taiwo Oyedele as the Minister of State for Finance at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
The brief ceremony took place at the State House, where Oyedele took the oath of office before the President.
Tinubu had nominated Oyedele for the position on March 3, 2026, following a minor cabinet reshuffle that moved Doris Uzoka-Anite to the Ministry of Budget and National Planning as Minister of State.
The Senate confirmed Oyedele’s appointment eight days after his nomination. Lawmakers approved him through a voice vote during plenary after several hours of screening at the Committee of the Whole.
During his screening, Oyedele described his nomination as a call to national service at a critical period in Nigeria’s economic development.
“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 said.
He noted that his nomination was not about personal achievements but about contributing to Nigeria’s efforts to address fiscal challenges and unlock economic opportunities.
The 50-year-old public policy expert added that his experience working on reforms related to taxation and ease of doing business in over 180 countries had prepared him for the role.
“I believe my background has equipped me to help my country by understanding what works globally and how to adapt those lessons to Nigeria’s unique context,” he said.
Before his appointment, Oyedele served as chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, a role he assumed in July 2023.
The committee proposed key tax reform bills, including the Nigeria Tax Bill, Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill, and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Bill. The National Assembly passed the bills after months of debate, and President Tinubu signed them into law on June 26, 2025.
Oyedele previously worked for decades at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), where he served as fiscal policy partner and Africa tax leader. He began his career at the firm in 2001.
He holds a Higher National Diploma in Accountancy and Finance from Yaba College of Technology and a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Accounting from Oxford Brookes University. He has also completed executive education programmes at the London School of Economics, Yale University, the Gordon Institute of Business Science, and the Harvard Kennedy School.
In addition to his professional work, Oyedele is a professor at Babcock University in Ogun State and a visiting scholar at the Lagos Business School.