President Bola Tinubu, on Monday, swore in Mr Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe as the new Minister of Power and Mr Sola Enikanolaiye as the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.
A statement from the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, last night disclosed that the exercise took place at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, in the presence of the ministers’ spouses and senior government officials.
The new Ministers took the oaths of office yesterday after they were cleared by the Senate for the appointments on May 6, 2026.
Mr Tegbe was chosen to replace Mr Adebayo Adelabu, who resigned from the position to pursue a governorship ambition in Oyo State, while Mr Enikanolaiye was drafted to the current post after the elevation of Mrs Bianca Ojukwu to the position of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, following the resignation of Mr Yusuf Tuggar, who tried to clinch the governorship ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bauchi State.
Mr Tegbe, born in Ibadan, Oyo State, is a renowned fiscal, economic and institutional reform strategist and stakeholder engagement expert with over 35 years of professional experience across the public and private sectors.
He holds a First Class Degree in Civil Engineering from Obafemi Awolowo University, a Master’s degree in Business Administration (Switzerland) and a Master’s degree in Public Administration (Birmingham).
He worked as a Senior Partner and Head of Advisory Services at KPMG in Africa, where he led transformational initiatives, including the design and implementation of major presidential reforms, the articulation and implementation of a strategy for subnational governments.
The Power Minister was also involved in fiscal policy restructuring at all levels of Government. He has worked with organisations such as the Nigerian Communications Commission, Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, Nigeria Revenue Service, Shell, Huawei, General Electric, MTN, and Odu’a Group, among others.
On his part, Mr Enikanolaiye from Igbagun, Kogi State, holds a First Class Degree in Political Science from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and won the Dean’s Prize as the best student in his faculty. He also obtained a Master’s Degree in International Law and Diplomacy from the University of Lagos with Distinction.
He joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in August 1982 and rose to the position of Director. He was appointed Permanent Secretary of the Ministry in 2016, from which he retired on August 4, 2017, after 35 years in service.
As a career diplomat, Mr Enikanolaiye served in many of Nigeria’s diplomatic missions, notably Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Belgrade (Serbia), Ottawa (Canada) and London (UK). His last foreign service posting was as Nigeria’s Head of Mission in New Delhi (India).
He is a recipient of several merit awards, including the Presidential Civil Service Merit Award, the Presidential Distinguished Public Service Career Award, and a Distinguished Fellow of the National Defence College, among others.
Mr Enikanolaiye was, until his appointment, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and International Relations in the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President.