Tinubu FORWARDS Oyedele’s Name To Senate For Ministerial Confirmation
President Bola Tinubu has forwarded the name of Taiwo Oyedele to the Senate for confirmation as a minister in his cabinet.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio read the president’s letter conveying the nomination during plenary on Tuesday.
In the letter, Tinubu said the nomination was made in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.
“In compliance with the provisions of Section 147(2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended, I am pleased to forward to the Senate for confirmation the nomination of Mr Taiwo Oyedele as Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” the letter reads.
“While I hope that this request will receive the expeditious consideration of the Senate, please accept, Distinguished Senate President, the assurances of my highest regards.”
Akpabio subsequently referred the nomination to the Committee of the Whole for consideration.
“Well, in line with our practice and as a result of the urgency, this is referred to the Committee of the Whole for future consideration,” Akpabio said.
Until his nomination as a minister, Oyedele, from Ikaram, Akoko, Ondo State, was the chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, which overhauled Nigeria’s tax system.
Oyedele, 50, is an economist, accountant and public policy expert.
He attended Yaba College of Technology, where he obtained a Higher National Diploma (HND) in accountancy and finance. He attended Oxford Brookes University and earned a BSc in applied accounting.
He also completed executive education programmes at the London School of Economics, Yale University, the Gordon Institute of Business Science, and the Harvard Kennedy School.
Oyedele spent 22 years of his working career at PwC, joining in 2001 and rising to become the Fiscal Policy Partner and Africa Tax Leader.
Oyedele is also a professor at Babcock University in Ogun State and a visiting scholar at the Lagos Business School.
President Tinubu has also written to the Senate, seeking the screening and subsequent confirmation of Senator Magnus Abe as chairman of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), following the resignation of Gbenga Komolafe.
Also for confirmation by the Senate are Engineer Paul Yaro Jezhi, a former Trade Union Congress chairman in Kaduna State, and Mr Sunday Adebayo Babalola, a former deputy director at the defunct Department of Petroleum Resources. Both were nominated as non-executive commissioners.
President Tinubu’s letter was read by Akpabio, and he referred the nominations to the Senate Committee on Petroleum Upstream.
In a related development, President Tinubu also requested the Senate to confirm two strategic appointments in the country’s sports and legal sectors.
The first nomination is for Mainasara Illo as Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Anti-Doping Centre (NADC).
The request was read during Tuesday’s plenary by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.
Citing Section 15 of the Nigerian Anti-Doping Act 2025, President Tinubu said:“In line with Section 15 of the Nigerian Anti-Doping Act 2025, I am pleased to present for confirmation by the Senate the appointment of Mr. Mainasara Illo as Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Anti-Doping Centre (NADC) for an initial term of four years.”
He added that he hoped the Senate would consider and confirm the nominee expeditiously.
Following the reading, the nomination was referred to the Senate Committees on Narcotics and Sports for screening and reporting back to the chamber.
The nomination follows President Tinubu’s approval of the NADC board, a key compliance milestone aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s commitment to clean sports and aligning with global regulatory standards.
Illo, a former broadcaster and prominent Nigerian sports administrator, previously chaired the bid committee for the 2030 Commonwealth Games and served on the Local Organising Committee for the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup hosted by Nigeria.
In a separate letter, President Tinubu also requested Senate confirmation of Professor Francis Ifeanyi Asokwa as Commissioner representing the South-East in the Nigerian Law Reform Commission.
The appointment is for an initial five-year term, effective March 18, 2026.
The request, transmitted in line with Section 2(1) of the Nigerian Law Reform Commission Act 2022, urged the Senate to give expeditious consideration to the nomination.
After reading the letter, Senate President Akpabio referred it to the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights, and Legal Matters for screening and reporting back to the chamber.
These nominations underscore President Tinubu’s ongoing efforts to strengthen leadership and institutional capacity in both regulatory and legal frameworks in Nigeria.