Senate to consider FCT budget, Oyedele ministerial nomination after recess
The Senate on Tuesday received the 2026 statutory budget of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) from President Bola Tinubu for consideration and approval.
The letter conveying the proposal was read during plenary by the Senate president, Godswill Akpabio, shortly after lawmakers resumed sitting following a three-week recess for the budget defence exercise.
In a separate correspondence, Tinubu asked the Senate to confirm Taiwo Oyedele as a minister. The request was referred to the committee of the whole for legislative consideration.
The president also sought confirmation of Mainasara Illo as chief executive officer of the Nigeria Anti-Doping Centre. The nomination was referred to the Senate committees on narcotics and drugs, and sports for joint screening.
Tinubu further asked the Senate to confirm Magnus Abe as chairman of the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), alongside two commissioner nominees.
Another letter from the president requested the confirmation of Francis Ifeanyi Asogwa as a commissioner representing the south-east in a federal commission. The nomination was referred to the Senate committee on judiciary, human rights and legal matters.
The Senate also received requests for the confirmation of Amina Gamawa from Bauchi state and Abdullahi Mukhtar from Kaduna state as commissioners of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission.
All the nominations were referred to the relevant committees for screening and further legislative action.
If confirmed, Oyedele — who chaired Tinubu’s tax reforms committee — will replace Doris Uzoka-Anite as minister of state for finance.
The nomination of the former fiscal policy partner and Africa tax leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) was announced last week by the president’s spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga.
Uzoka-Anite is expected to move to the ministry of budget and national planning as minister of state, her third portfolio in the current administration.
Oyedele, 50, is a public policy expert, accountant and economist. He holds a higher national diploma in accountancy and finance from Yaba College of Technology and a BSc in applied accounting from Oxford Brookes University.