The Nigerian Senate on Wednesday began the screening of Taiwo Oyedele following his nomination as Minister of State for Finance.
The exercise comes less than 24 hours after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu sent a letter to the Senate requesting Oyedele’s confirmation for appointment into the Federal Executive Council to replace Doris Uzoka-Anite.
In a separate request, the President also asked the Senate to confirm former Rivers South-East senator, Magnus Abe, as Chairman of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
Both letters were read during plenary by the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio.
In his correspondence, Tinubu urged the upper chamber to consider and approve Oyedele’s nomination as part of ongoing adjustments within the Federal Executive Council aimed at strengthening the country’s economic management.
Until his nomination, Oyedele—who hails from Ikaram in Akoko, Ondo State—served as chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, where he spearheaded initiatives to reform Nigeria’s tax system and enhance fiscal governance.
The 50-year-old economist, accountant and public policy expert has extensive experience in tax policy and economic reform. Before leading the presidential tax reform committee, he spent 22 years at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), where he joined in 2001 and later rose to become Fiscal Policy Partner and Africa Tax Leader.
After the President’s letter was read, Akpabio referred the nomination to the appropriate Senate committee for further legislative consideration in line with the chamber’s oversight responsibilities.
