Tinubu swears in Joseph Tegbe, Sola Enikanolaiye as new ministers after cabinet exits

• President Tinubu inaugurated Joseph Tegbe and Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye as new ministers after former ministers Adebayo Adelabu and Yusuf Tuggar resigned to pursue elective offices.

• Enikanolaiye is a veteran diplomat with 35 years of foreign service experience, while Tegbe brings decades of expertise from both the public and private sectors.

• The appointments are part of ongoing cabinet changes under Tinubu's administration, which has recorded at least 12 ministerial reshuffles and replacements since 2023.

President Bola Tinubu on Monday officially swore in Joseph Tegbe as Nigeria's new Minister of Power and Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.

The inauguration took place at the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa in Abuja, with members of the Federal Executive Council, senior government officials and family members of the appointees in attendance.

The appointments followed the resignation of former Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, and former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, who both stepped down ahead of the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary elections scheduled for May 2026.

A statement issued by the President's Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the swearing-in ceremony was brief but significant, coming amid ongoing changes within Tinubu's cabinet.

Tinubu had nominated Tegbe and Enikanolaiye on May 5, 2026, while the Senate confirmed both appointments a day later after screening the nominees.

Their appointments are part of a broader cabinet reorganisation triggered by a March 2026 directive from Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Dr. Muttaqha Darma, requiring ministers seeking elective positions to resign before participating in party primaries.

The two men become the latest additions to the Federal Executive Council following Darma's own swearing-in as Minister of Housing and Urban Development in April. His appointment came after the exit of Ahmed Dangiwa during a cabinet reshuffle that also saw Taiwo Oyedele replace Wale Edun as Minister of Finance.

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Before his latest appointment, Enikanolaiye served as Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and International Relations.

His new role fills the vacancy created after Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu was elevated to substantive Minister of Foreign Affairs following Tuggar's resignation.

A seasoned diplomat from Igbagun in Kogi State, Enikanolaiye spent more than three decades in Nigeria's foreign service.

He graduated with a First Class degree in Political Science from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where he won the Dean's Prize for best graduating student in his faculty. He later earned a distinction in his Master's degree in International Law and Diplomacy 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 before retiring from the civil service in August 2017.

During his diplomatic career, he served in several foreign missions, including Addis Ababa, Belgrade, Ottawa, London and New Delhi. He eventually became Nigeria's Head of Mission in India.

His career has earned him multiple honours, including the Presidential Civil Service Merit Award and the Presidential Distinguished Public Service Career Award.

Joseph Tegbe assumes leadership of the Power Ministry with more than 35 years of experience spanning government institutions and the private sector.

Born in Ibadan, Oyo State, Tegbe studied Civil Engineering at Obafemi Awolowo University, graduating with First Class honours. He also holds an MBA from Switzerland and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Birmingham.

Prior to his appointment, he served as Senior Partner and Head of Advisory Services at KPMG Africa, where he worked on major government reform programmes and fiscal policy initiatives across federal and state governments.

His professional experience includes engagements with organisations such as the Nigerian Communications Commission, Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, Shell, Huawei, General Electric and MTN.

Tegbe also served as Director-General and Global Liaison of the Nigeria-China Strategic Partnership before joining the cabinet.

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Tinubu inaugurated his first Federal Executive Council on August 21, 2023, swearing in 45 ministers in what was one of Nigeria's largest cabinet inaugurations since the return to democracy in 1999.

The administration carried out its first major cabinet reshuffle in October 2024 and has since made several replacements, reassignments and portfolio adjustments.

With the latest appointments of Tegbe and Enikanolaiye, the number of cabinet changes under Tinubu's administration has now risen to at least 12 since the government took office in 2023.