Tinubu swears in new power, foreign affairs ministers

President Bola Tinubu on Monday swore in Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe as Minister of Power and Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The ceremony was attended by family members of the appointees and senior government officials.

The appointments followed the resignation of former Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, and former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, who stepped down to pursue political ambitions ahead of the 2027 elections.

Both nominees were recently confirmed by the National Assembly after being forwarded by the president.

Speaking on the new appointments, the Presidency described Tegbe as a seasoned economic and institutional reform expert with more than 35 years of experience in both the public and private sectors.

A native of Ibadan, Oyo State, Tegbe holds a First Class degree in Civil Engineering from Obafemi Awolowo University, as well as master’s degrees in Business Administration and Public Administration.

Before his appointment, he served as Senior Partner and Head of Advisory Services at KPMG Africa, where he led several reform initiatives, including fiscal policy and governance projects at federal and subnational levels.

He has also worked with major organisations, including the Nigerian Communications Commission, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc, Shell, MTN, Huawei and General Electric.

The new Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Enikanolaiye, is a career diplomat from Kogi State with over three decades of experience in Nigeria’s foreign service.

He graduated with a First Class degree in Political Science from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and later earned a distinction in International Law and Diplomacy from the University of Lagos.

Enikanolaiye joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1982 and rose to become Permanent Secretary before retiring in 2017 after 35 years of service.

During his diplomatic career, he served in Nigeria’s missions in Ethiopia, Serbia, Canada, the United Kingdom and India, where he was Head of Mission.

Until his appointment, he was serving as Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and International Relations.

The Presidency expressed confidence that both ministers would bring their wealth of experience to support the administration’s agenda in the power and foreign affairs sectors.