President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday formally requested the Senate to screen and confirm Mr Taiwo Oyedele as Minister of State for Finance and Senator Magnus Abe as Chairman of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).

The requests were conveyed in separate letters read during plenary by the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio.

In his letter, Tinubu highlighted that Oyedele’s confirmation is part of ongoing adjustments within the Federal Executive Council. Oyedele, 50, hails from Ikaram in Akoko, Ondo State, and is an economist, accountant, and public policy expert. He previously chaired the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, leading initiatives aimed at overhauling Nigeria’s tax system.

Oyedele spent 22 years at PwC, joining in 2001 and rising to become Fiscal Policy Partner and Africa Tax Leader. He is set to replace Dr Doris Uzoka-Anite as Minister of State for Finance.

The President also recommended the confirmation of Magnus Abe, a former Senator for Rivers South-East, as chairman of the NUPRC, following the resignation of Gbenga Komolafe.

Additionally, the Senate has been asked to consider the appointments of Paul Yaro Jezhi, former Trade Union Congress chairman in Kaduna State, and Sunday Adebayo Babalola, former deputy director of the now-defunct Department of Petroleum Resources, as non-executive commissioners of the NUPRC.

Following Akpabio’s reading of the letters, the nominations were referred to the Senate Committee on Petroleum Upstream for further legislative action.