..as Oyedele Vows Diligent Execution Of Tax Policy
President Bola Tinubu has said that he did not have a hard time deciding where and how newly-appointed Minister of State for Finance, Taiwo Oyedele, would fit in his cabinet.
Tinubu stated this on Monday at the swearing-in of Oyedele as a minister at the Presidential Villa.
“You are just a very dedicated and highly determined individual. It didn’t take much for me to decide where you fit and where you need to be to further help the country.
“It is a very challenging job to look at the fiscal policy and responsibility that comes with it at a time when economic stability is being experienced, but without exponential growth. It is always very difficult. But you fit the bill,” he stated.
The President thanked the new minister for his contribution to improving Nigeria’s tax policy, which he said had been obsolete.
He also thanked Oyedele’s wife for supporting her husband.
Tinubu nominated Oyedele as the Minister of State for Finance on March 3, 2026, to replace Doris Uzoka-Anite, who was moved to serve as the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning.
Days later, the Senate confirmed him as a minister-designate through a voice vote at the Committee of the Whole, after hours of screening.
Speaking during the screening he said his decades-long experience working on “global reforms regarding the ease of doing business and taxation across 180 countries” had prepared him for the role.
“I feel my background has prepared me to help my country by understanding what works globally and how to apply those lessons to our unique context,” he Oyedele added.
Oyedele is a former chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms.
His tenure as chairman led to the creation of four bills: the Nigeria Tax Bill, the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill, and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Bill were passed by the National Assembly last year after months of extensive debates and controversies, and assented to by Tinubu on June 26, 2025.
The 50-year-old public policy expert, accountant, and economist was appointed by the President to chair the tax reform committee in July 2023.
The former fiscal policy partner and Africa tax leader at PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) attended Yaba College of Technology and bagged a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Accountancy and Finance.
Oyedele earned a BSc in Applied Accounting from Oxford Brookes University, completed executive programmes at several global institutions, worked at PwC from 2001 for decades, and serves as a professor at Babcock University and a visiting scholar at Lagos Business School.
Meanwhile, the newly sworn-in Minister of State for Finance, Taiwo Oyedele, has vowed to ensure Nigeria’s tax reforms move from policy formulation to diligent execution.
Oyedele gave this assurance shortly after President Bola Tinubu administered the oath of office to him at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Monday.
Speaking to State House correspondents after the ceremony, Oyedele identified revenue mobilisation, spending efficiency, debt management, and fiscal sustainability as his immediate priorities.
He disclosed that his focus would be on generating sufficient revenue to meet increasing public demands on the treasury at both federal and sub-national levels.
The new minister acknowledged that while challenges exist, significant opportunities abound for Nigeria.
Oyedele also emphasised the need for proactive thinking in positioning Nigeria to manage challenges while optimising opportunities both domestically and globally
“Reforms are only as good as the paper on which they are written. What is really important is the diligent execution, and this is part of it: to move from policy formulation to execution. So we’re very excited and looking forward to the challenges ahead.
Responding to questions on how he intends to avoid disappointing the President and Nigerians, Oyedele said, “One thing I can promise Mr President and the Nigerian people is that I’ll give my very best at every point in time.
“And I’m confident in the Ministry of Finance, with the complement of the team and the leadership working together, I don’t think there’s anything that will be beyond us to surmount.
“There are challenges, no doubt, but so are the opportunities that abound for our country,” he said.
