President Bola Tinubu has sworn in tax policy expert Taiwo Oyedele as the Minister of State for Finance during a ceremony held at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
Oyedele arrived at the Aso Rock complex on Monday afternoon accompanied by his wife ahead of the swearing-in. Security officials cleared the couple at about 2:09 pm. The minister wore a navy-blue suit, while his wife appeared in a white traditional outfit.
The ceremony followed the confirmation of his nomination by the Senate earlier in the week. Lawmakers approved his appointment through a voice vote after a screening exercise that lasted more than two hours.
Announcing the confirmation, Senate President Godswill Akpabio said the upper chamber adopted the recommendation of the Committee of the Whole.
President Tinubu had earlier transmitted Oyedele’s name to the Senate for approval in line with constitutional provisions governing ministerial appointments.
Oyedele, a native of Ikaram in the Akoko area of Ondo State, brings over two decades of experience in fiscal policy and tax administration to the position.
Before his appointment, he chaired the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, which led a comprehensive review of Nigeria’s tax structure.
The committee produced four executive bills aimed at streamlining the country’s tax system by reducing numerous levies into fewer legal frameworks.
Among the reforms was a provision that exempts Nigerians earning ₦800,000 or less annually from paying income tax.
The National Assembly passed the bills in 2025 after extensive deliberations, and President Tinubu later signed them into law in June of the same year. The reforms took effect on January 1, 2026, introducing a new tax regime in the country.
The policies also provide relief for small businesses by exempting companies with an annual turnover below ₦50 million from company income tax, capital gains tax, and withholding tax. Additional incentives were included to encourage employment and improved wages.
Prior to his public service role, Oyedele spent 22 years at the global consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he rose to become Fiscal Policy Partner and Africa Tax Leader.
Academically, he 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 has also completed executive education programmes at institutions including the London School of Economics, Yale University, the Gordon Institute of Business Science, and the Harvard Kennedy School.
Oyedele currently serves as a professor at Babcock University and a visiting scholar at the Lagos Business School.
He takes over from Doris Uzoka-Anite, who has been redeployed as Minister of State in the Ministry of Budget and National Planning.
During his screening at the Senate, Oyedele described his nomination as “a call to serve at a crucial time” for the nation’s economy.
“With more than two decades of experience working with governments, international organisations and global corporations, my focus has always been on fiscal governance and economic transformation,” he told lawmakers.
Meanwhile, Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa was also seen arriving at the Presidential Villa later in the afternoon to witness the swearing-in ceremony.
