President Bola Tinubu has nominated Dr. Taiwo Oyedele as the new Minister of State for Finance.
Oyedele, who currently chairs the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, is set to replace Dr. Doris Anite-Uzoka, who has been redeployed to the Ministry of Budget and National Planning as Minister of State, her third assignment in the administration.
The President conveyed Oyedele’s nomination to the Senate in a letter addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, according to a statement issued Tuesday by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga. The Senate is expected to screen and confirm the nominee in the coming weeks.
Before his nomination, Oyedele led the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, inaugurated in August 2023. The committee spearheaded a sweeping overhaul of Nigeria’s tax system, delivering four executive bills that consolidated over 60 taxes into fewer than 10 laws.
Among the landmark reforms that took effect on January 1, 2026, were:
Zero income tax for Nigerians earning ₦800,000 or less annually, Tax exemptions for small businesses with turnover below ₦50 million, 50% tax deductions for companies hiring new workers for three years, 50% deductions for wage increases to the lowest-paid employees and a five-year corporate tax holiday for agricultural enterprises
The reforms are aimed at simplifying taxation, boosting compliance, and stimulating economic growth.
The 50-year-old economist and accountant began his academic journey at Yaba College of Technology, earning a Higher National Diploma in Accountancy and Finance. He later obtained a BSc in Applied Accounting from Oxford Brookes University.
Oyedele also completed executive 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, where he rose to become Fiscal Policy Partner and Africa Tax Leader before his appointment to head the tax reform committee. He is currently a professor at Babcock University, Ogun State, and a visiting scholar at the Lagos Business School.
As Minister of State for Finance, Oyedele will work alongside the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, to oversee fiscal policy, revenue mobilisation, debt management, and broader economic reforms.
His appointment is widely seen as a move to ensure continuity in implementing the tax reforms he championed, as the Federal Government intensifies efforts to strengthen revenue generation and stabilise the economy.
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