President Bola Tinubu has nominated Taiwo Oyedele, Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, as Minister of State for Finance.
The nomination was formally communicated to the Nigerian Senate in a letter addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, according to a statement by presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga.
Oyedele, who hails from Ikaram in Akoko, Ondo State, will replace Doris Uzoka-Anite, who has been redeployed to the Ministry of Budget and National Planning as Minister of State.
Before his ministerial nomination, the 50-year-old economist, accountant, and public policy specialist served as chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, where he led a comprehensive restructuring of Nigeria’s tax system.
The committee, inaugurated in August 2023, recommended sweeping reforms that consolidated more than 60 existing taxes into fewer than 10 principal statutes. Among its key proposals was the introduction of zero income tax for Nigerians earning ₦800,000 annually or less.
The resulting Tax Reform Acts, which took effect on January 1, 2026, also exempt small businesses with annual turnover below ₦50 million from company income tax, capital gains tax, and development levy.
Other provisions include a 50 percent tax deduction for companies that hire new employees for three years, a similar deduction for wage increases awarded to low-income workers, and a five-year corporate tax holiday for agricultural enterprises.
Oyedele is an alumnus of Yaba College of Technology, where he earned a Higher National Diploma in Accountancy and Finance, and later obtained a BSc in Applied Accounting from Oxford Brookes University.
He further pursued executive education programmes at institutions including the London School of Economics, Yale University, the Gordon Institute of Business Science, and the Harvard Kennedy School.
Prior to his public service appointment, Oyedele spent 22 years at PricewaterhouseCoopers, joining in 2001 and rising to become Fiscal Policy Partner and Africa Tax Leader.
He is currently a professor at Babcock University and serves as a visiting scholar at the Lagos Business School.
As Minister of State for Finance, Oyedele is expected to play a central role in implementing the tax reforms he previously championed, particularly as the government seeks to strengthen revenue generation and advance broader economic policy objectives.
Meanwhile, the Senate is expected to schedule Oyedele’s screening and confirmation hearing in the coming weeks. Following confirmation, he will be officially sworn in to begin his ministerial responsibilities.
The Ministry of Finance is currently headed by Wale Edun, who serves as the substantive Minister overseeing fiscal policy, revenue administration, and national economic management.
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