Tinubu Swears In New Ministers for Power, Foreign Affairs After Senate Confirmation
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Monday swore in two new members of the Federal Executive Council, strengthening key sectors of government with the appointments of a new Minister of Power and a 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.
Those sworn in were Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe as Minister of Power and Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.
The appointments follow the resignations of the former Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, and the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, who stepped down to pursue political ambitions. President Tinubu subsequently nominated their replacements, who were confirmed by the Senate on Wednesday, May 6, 2026.
Tegbe brings decades of reform and private sector experience
The new Minister of Power, Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe, an indigene of Ibadan in Oyo State, is a seasoned fiscal and economic reform expert with over 35 years of experience spanning both the public and private sectors.
He holds a First Class degree in Civil Engineering from Obafemi Awolowo University, alongside master’s degrees in Business Administration and Public Administration from institutions in Switzerland and Birmingham respectively.
Tegbe previously served as Senior Partner and Head of Advisory Services at KPMG Africa, where he led major transformation and reform initiatives, including presidential-level advisory work and subnational governance strategy design.
His professional background includes engagements with key institutions such as the Nigerian Communications Commission, Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, Shell, Huawei, General Electric, MTN, and the Odu’a Group, among others.
Veteran diplomat returns to service in cabinet role
Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, from Igbagun in Kogi State, holds a First Class degree in Political Science from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where he graduated as the best student in his faculty, and a Master’s degree in International Law and Diplomacy from the University of Lagos, earned with distinction.
He joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1982 and rose through the diplomatic ranks to the position of Director, later serving as Permanent Secretary before retiring in 2017 after 35 years of service.
Over the course of his diplomatic career, he served in Nigerian missions in Addis Ababa, Belgrade, Ottawa and London, with his final posting as Head of Mission in New Delhi, India.
He is a recipient of several national honours, including the Presidential Civil Service Merit Award and the Presidential Distinguished Public Service Career Award, and is also a Distinguished Fellow of the National Defence College.
Before his ministerial appointment, Enikanolaiye served as Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and International Relations in the Office of the Chief of Staff.
The presidency said the appointments are aimed at strengthening governance capacity in critical sectors of power and foreign affairs as the administration advances its reform agenda.
By TimesNG