- President Bola Tinubu has requested for the Senate confirmation of Taiwo Oyedele as Minister of State for Finance
- Tinubu also seeks confirmation of former Senator Magnus Abe as Chairman of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC)
- Other nominees include Paul Yaro Jezhi and Sunday Adebayo Babalola as non-executive NUPRC commissioners
President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday, March 10, sent letters to the Senate requesting the screening and confirmation of several key nominees, including Taiwo Oyedele as Minister of State for Finance and former Senator Magnus Abe as Chairman of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
The letters were read on the Senate floor by Senate President Godswill Akpabio during plenary, following a three-week recess for the budget defence exercise. The requests have been referred to the relevant committees for further legislative scrutiny.
If confirmed, Oyedele will replace Dr Doris Uzoka-Anite as Minister of State for Finance. Uzoka-Anite is expected to move to the Ministry of Budget and National Planning, marking her third portfolio in the Tinubu administration.
Oyedele, 50, is a public policy expert, economist, and accountant.
He previously chaired the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, leading initiatives to overhaul Nigeria’s tax system.
A native of Ikaram in Akoko, Ondo State, he holds an HND in Accountancy and Finance from Yaba College of Technology and a BSc in Applied Accounting from Oxford Brookes University.
Oyedele spent 22 years at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), rising to Fiscal Policy Partner and Africa Tax Leader.
The President also requested Senate confirmation of Magnus Abe as NUPRC Chairman, following the resignation of Gbenga Komolafe.
Alongside Abe, Tinubu nominated Paul Yaro Jezhi, a former Trade Union Congress chairman in Kaduna State, and Sunday Adebayo Babalola, a former deputy director at the defunct Department of Petroleum Resources, as non-executive commissioners.
All nominations have been referred to the Senate Committee on Petroleum Upstream for screening.
Additional requests included the confirmation of Mainasara Illo as Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Anti-Doping Centre, which was referred to the Senate committees on Narcotics, Drugs, and Sports for joint consideration.
Furthermore, Francis Ifeanyi Asogwa was nominated as a commissioner representing the South-East in a federal commission, and Amina Gamawa (Bauchi State) and Abdullahi Murktar (Kaduna State) were nominated as commissioners of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission.
These nominations have been referred to their respective committees for legislative review.
The Senate also received the 2026 statutory budget of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) from President Tinubu for consideration and approval.