Senate confirms Taiwo Oyedele as minister

The Senate has confirmed the appointment of Taiwo Oyedele as a minister-designate.

Join the Premium Times WhatsApp Community For Quick Access To News and Happenings Around You.

The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced the confirmation after lawmakers cleared the nominee by voice vote in the Committee of the Whole.

The Senate started screening Mr Oyedele following a motion by the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele (APC, Ekiti Central).

He was questioned by the senators for several hours on the economy and finance.

Mr Oyedele was led into the chamber by the Special Adviser to the President on Senate Matters, Basheer Lado.

The nominee entered the chamber at about 2:21 p.m., alongside other government officials, and left at 4.30 p.m.

He was questioned by the senators for several hours on the economy and finance.

Stay Ahead with Premium Times

Add as a preferred source on Google

President Bola Tinubu, on Tuesday, asked the Senate to screen and confirm the appointment of Mr Oyedele as minister.

Mr Tinubu’s request was contained in a letter read by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, during Tuesday’s plenary

Mr Oyedele is to replace Doris Anite-Uzoka, who will move to the Ministry of Budget and National Planning as minister of state, her third portfolio in the administration since 2023.

In the letter, President Tinubu said the nomination was in line with Section 147(2) of the Nigerian Constitution.

After reading the letter, Mr Akpabio referred the request to the Committee of the Whole for future consideration.

President Tinubu had nominated Mr Oyedele last week. Until President Tinubu nominated him as a minister, Mr 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.

READ ALSO: Oyedele reacts to KPMG’s review of Nigeria’s tax laws

Mr 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.

Mr 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.

He is also a professor at Babcock University in Ogun State and a visiting scholar at the Lagos Business School.