Senate confirms Taiwo Oyedele as Minister

THE Senate has confirmed Taiwo Oyedele as minister of state for finance.

The confirmation was after hours of questions from the Senators on the economy  and finance with answers provided by him.

The Senate had commenced the screening  after a motion moved by the Senate Leader,  Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, APC, Ekiti Central.

Oyedele was led into the chamber by the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Senate matters, Senator Basheer Lado.

The nominee entered the senate chamber at about 2:21pm alongside other government officials and rounded off 4.30pm.

Predident Bola Tinubu had on Tuesday written the Senate, seeking for the screening and subsequent confirmation of Taiwo Oyedele as the minister of state for finance, replacing Dr Doris Uzoka-Anite.

The letter from Tinubu was read during plenary by the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio.

Tinubu said the nomination was made in accordance with the provisions of the constitution.

“In compliance with the provisions of section 147(2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended, I am pleased to forward to the Senate for confirmation the nomination of Mr Taiwo Oyedele as Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” the president said.

“While I hope that this request will receive expeditious consideration of the Senate, please accept Distinguished Senate President the assurances of my highest regards.”

Akpabio thereafter referred the nomination to the committee of the whole for consideration.

The President of the Senate said, “Well, in line with our practice and as a result of the urgency, this is referred to the Committee of the Whole for further consideration.

Until his nomination as a Minister, Oyedele from Ikaram, Akoko, Ondo State, was the chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, which overhauled Nigeria’s tax system.

Oyedele, 50, is an economist, accountant and public policy expert.

He attended Yaba College of Technology, where he obtained a Higher National Diploma (HND) in accountancy and finance. He attended Oxford Brookes University and earned 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.