President Bola Tinubu has nominated the chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, as Minister of State for Finance.
Oyedele replaces Dr Doris Anite-Uzoka, who has been redeployed to the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning as Minister of State, her third portfolio in the administration.
The President on Monday conveyed Oyedele’s nomination to the Senate for confirmation in a letter to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, according to a statement by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
Oyedele, 50, from Ikaram, Akoko, Ondo State, is an economist, accountant, and public policy expert who led the comprehensive overhaul of Nigeria’s tax system.
The committee, inaugurated in August 2023, delivered four executive bills that consolidated over 60 taxes into fewer than 10 statutes, introducing significant reforms, including a zero income tax rate for Nigerians earning N800,000 annually or less.
The Tax Reform Acts, which took effect on January 1, 2026, also exempted small businesses with turnover below N50m from company income tax, capital gains tax, and development levy.
Other provisions include a 50 per cent tax deduction for companies hiring new workers for three years, a 50 per cent deduction for wage increases to the lowest-paid employees, and a five-year corporate tax holiday for agricultural enterprises.
Oyedele attended Yaba College of Technology, where he obtained a Higher National Diploma in Accountancy and Finance, before proceeding to Oxford Brookes University for 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.
Oyedele spent 22 years at PricewaterhouseCoopers, joining in 2001 and rising to become the Fiscal Policy Partner and Africa Tax Leader before his appointment to head the tax reform committee.
He is currently a professor at Babcock University in Ogun State and a visiting scholar at the Lagos Business School.
As Minister of State for Finance, Oyedele is expected to oversee the implementation of the tax reforms he championed, particularly as the government seeks to improve revenue generation and deepen economic reforms.
Dr Anite-Uzoka, who is being redeployed to the Ministry of Budget and National Planning, previously served as Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment before her appointment as Minister of State for Finance.
It is her third move to a new portfolio within the Tinubu administration.
The Senate is expected to screen and confirm Oyedele’s nomination in the coming weeks, following which he will be sworn in to assume his ministerial duties.
The Finance Ministry, currently led by Wale Edun as substantive minister, oversees fiscal policy, revenue mobilisation, debt management, and economic planning.
