Tinubu swears in ministers Joseph Tegbe and Sola Enikanolaiye following Senate confirmation and recent cabinet changes

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Monday administered the oath of office to Joseph Tegbe as Minister of Power and Sola Enikanolaiye as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

Also read: Tinubu Vows Strong Action Against Insecurity

The swearing-in ceremony followed the resignation of ministers who stepped down from the Federal Executive Council ahead of the All Progressives Congress (All Progressives Congress) primary elections held in May 2026.

According to a statement issued by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the brief ceremony took place at the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa and was attended by the ministers’ spouses and senior government officials.

Tegbe and Enikanolaiye were nominated by President Tinubu on 5 May and subsequently screened and confirmed by the Senate the following day.

Their induction represents the second batch of ministerial appointments since the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Muttaqha Darma, directed ministers with political ambitions to resign before the ruling party’s primaries.

Enikanolaiye, a veteran diplomat from Igbagun in Kogi State, brings more than three decades of experience in Nigeria’s foreign service. During his diplomatic career, he served in several international postings, including Addis Ababa, Belgrade, Ottawa, London and New Delhi.

He also served as Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and International Relations and retired from the civil service in 2017 as a Permanent Secretary. His career has earned him several honours, including the Presidential Civil Service Merit Award.

Tegbe, an engineer and public policy expert from Ibadan, Oyo State, holds a First Class degree in Civil Engineering from Obafemi Awolowo University and advanced qualifications in Business and Public Administration from institutions in Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

Before his appointment, Tegbe built a distinguished career spanning both the public and private sectors, with professional experience at KPMG Africa, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, Shell, Huawei, General Electric and MTN.

He also served as Director-General of the Nigeria-China Strategic Partnership, where he played a key role in advancing bilateral economic cooperation.

The latest appointments come as the Tinubu administration continues efforts to reposition key sectors of the economy and strengthen governance through strategic cabinet adjustments.

President Tinubu initially inaugurated his Federal Executive Council on 21 August 2023, swearing in 45 ministers in what was the largest single-day cabinet inauguration since Nigeria’s return to democratic rule in 1999.

Also read: Tinubu Approves Urgent Forest Guards Recruitment After Ogbomoso Abduction Crisis

Since then, the cabinet has undergone several changes and restructurings, with Monday’s ceremony marking another significant development in the administration’s evolving governance agenda.