President Bola Tinubu has forwarded the name of Taiwo Oyedele to the Senate for confirmation as Minister of State for Finance, in a move seen as reinforcing the administration’s fiscal reform agenda.
The nomination, conveyed in a letter to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, was announced Tuesday by presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga.
If confirmed, Oyedele would succeed Doris Uzoka-Anite, who has been reassigned to serve as Minister of State for Budget and National Planning.
Uzoka-Anite’s redeployment marks her third cabinet position since the current administration took office.
She was first appointed Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment in August 2023 before being moved to the Finance Ministry in October 2024.
Oyedele, a respected public finance specialist, gained national prominence as chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, a body established in July 2023 to overhaul Nigeria’s tax system.
Under his leadership, the committee drafted four major reform bills aimed at modernising tax administration and boosting government revenue.
The legislation covering tax administration, revenue services, and intergovernmental coordination was passed by the National Assembly after months of debate and subsequently signed into law by President Tinubu on June 26, 2025.
The new tax regime came into effect on January 1, 2026, marking one of the most significant fiscal policy shifts in recent years.
Government officials have credited the reforms with simplifying compliance processes, improving revenue collection, and enhancing investor confidence.
Adjustments to the Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) framework have also been cited as contributing to increased take-home pay for workers.
A trained accountant and economist, Oyedele holds a Higher National Diploma from Yaba College of Technology and a Bachelor’s degree in Applied Accounting from Oxford Brookes University.
He has completed executive education programmes at globally recognised institutions, including the London School of Economics, Yale University, the Gordon Institute of Business Science, and the Harvard Kennedy School.
Before his public service role, he spent over two decades at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), where he rose to become Fiscal Policy Partner and Africa Tax Leader.
He also lectures at Babcock University and serves as a visiting scholar at Lagos Business School.
The Senate is expected to begin screening proceedings in the coming days.
The lawmakers would examine Oyedele’s credentials and policy direction as part of the constitutional confirmation process.
If cleared, the nomination would formally elevate the chief architect of Nigeria’s recent tax overhaul into the Federal Executive Council, positioning him at the heart of the country’s fiscal management strategy as economic reforms continue to unfold.
