President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Monday inaugurated fiscal policy expert Taiwo Oyedele as the Minister of State for Finance during a brief ceremony at the Presidential Office in the State House, Abuja.
The swearing-in ceremony took place at about 2:30 p.m., barely five days after the Senate confirmed his nomination following a screening exercise in which he pledged to pursue policies aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s fiscal management and boosting government revenue.
During the screening, Oyedele told lawmakers that his priority would be to deepen fiscal reforms, improve revenue mobilisation and promote a more realistic budgeting framework capable of supporting sustainable economic growth.
President Tinubu had earlier transmitted his nomination to the Senate in a letter dated March 3, 2026, in accordance with Section 147(2) of the 1999 Constitution, which mandates the National Assembly to confirm ministerial nominees.
Oyedele, who hails from Ikaram-Akoko in Ondo State, is regarded as a leading expert in fiscal policy, taxation and public finance, with more than 20 years of professional experience spanning both the private and public sectors.
Before his appointment as minister, he served as chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, a body established by the federal government in August 2023 to develop a comprehensive reform framework for Nigeria’s tax system.
Under his leadership, the committee proposed four key tax reform bills designed to simplify tax administration, improve compliance and stimulate economic growth.
The reforms also introduced several incentives aimed at easing the tax burden on low-income earners and small businesses. Among them is the provision for zero income tax for Nigerians earning N800,000 or less annually, as well as tax exemptions for small businesses with an annual turnover below N50 million.
The four reform bills — the Nigeria Tax Bill, Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Bill — were passed by the National Assembly in 2025.
President Tinubu subsequently signed them into law on June 26, 2025, paving the way for the implementation of a new tax framework that officially came into effect on January 1, 2026.
Prior to his appointment into government, Oyedele had an extensive career at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), where he spent 22 years working on tax advisory, fiscal policy and regulatory matters.
During his time at the firm, he rose to become fiscal policy partner and Africa tax leader, providing strategic advice to governments, institutions and multinational companies on tax policy, compliance and economic reforms.
Oyedele’s academic credentials include 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 in the United Kingdom.
He has also attended several 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.
Aside from his professional and policy engagements, Oyedele is actively involved in academic work. He lectures at Babcock University and serves as a visiting scholar at Lagos Business School, where he contributes to research and teaching in taxation, fiscal governance and economic policy.
His appointment follows the redeployment of Doris Uzoka-Anite, who previously held the position of Minister of State for Finance.
Uzoka-Anite was recently reassigned to the Ministry of Budget and National Planning as Minister of State, marking the third ministerial portfolio she has handled since the beginning of the Tinubu administration.
With Oyedele now in office, the federal government is expected to further advance its ongoing fiscal and tax reforms aimed at strengthening revenue generation, improving economic management and supporting Nigeria’s long-term development goals.