Tinubu swears in new Power Minister, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs

By Johnson Arua

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Monday swore in Mr. Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe as the new Minister of Power and Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye as the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.

The brief ceremony took place at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, in the presence of the ministers’ spouses and senior government officials.

The appointments followed the resignation of former Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, and former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, who stepped down to pursue their political ambitions. The Senate had cleared the nominees on May 6, 2026.

A statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, described Tegbe as a seasoned fiscal, economic and institutional reform strategist with more than 35 years of experience spanning the public and private sectors.

Born in 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 from institutions in Switzerland and the United Kingdom respectively.

Before his appointment, he served as Senior Partner and Head of Advisory Services at KPMG Africa, where he led several transformational initiatives, including the design and implementation of major presidential reforms and strategies for subnational governments.

He has also worked with key institutions and organisations such as the Nigerian Communications Commission, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading, Shell, Huawei, General Electric, MTN and Odu’a Group.

The statement noted that Tegbe played significant roles in fiscal policy restructuring and institutional reforms across various levels of government.

Similarly, Ambassador Enikanolaiye brings decades of diplomatic experience to his new role. A native of Igbagun in Kogi State, he graduated with a First Class degree in Political Science from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where he emerged as the best graduating student in his faculty.

He later earned a Master’s degree in International Law and Diplomacy with distinction from the University of Lagos.
Enikanolaiye joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1982 and rose through the ranks to become Permanent Secretary in 2016.

He retired from the civil service in August 2017 after 35 years of service.
During his diplomatic career, he served in Nigeria’s missions in Ethiopia, Serbia, Canada and the United Kingdom, while his last foreign posting was as Nigeria’s Head of Mission in New Delhi, India.

The veteran diplomat is a recipient of several honours, including the Presidential Civil Service Merit Award and the Presidential Distinguished Public Service Career Award.

Until his appointment, he served as Senior Special Assistant to President Tinubu on Foreign Affairs and International Relations in the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President.