President Tinubu swears in Enikanolaiye, Tegbe as ministers

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu today sworn-in two new members into the Federal Executive Council with Mr Joseph Tegbe as Minister of Power while Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye was appointed as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.

The swearing-in ceremony occurred at the Presidential Villa in Abuja and is a reflection of the change that has been brought about by recent events within the cabinet of the presidency.

According to a statement from the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the short ceremony happened at the Council Chamber and was attended by spouses and some other government officials.

The two appointees were nominated by the president on May 5, 2026, after the resignation of the former Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, and the former Foreign Affairs Minister, Yusuf Tuggar, who both resigned their ministerial posts to contest for elective positions.

The Senate approved and confirmed the appointment of the two the next day, May 6.

The latest pair of Ministers of the Federal Executive Council joining Dr. Muttaqha Darma after the Secretary to the Government of the Federation’s circular in March 2026 urging all ministers aspiring to run in primaries to tender their resignations are Enikanolaiye and Tegbe.

On April 30, 2026, Dr. Muttaqha Darma replaced Dr Ahmed Dangiwa as the new Minister of Housing and Urban Development; this was due to the cabinet restructuring which led to the exit of Wale Edun from the Ministry of Finance and Oyedele taking up that role.

Until being appointed as a Minister, Enikanolaiye worked as the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and International Relations.

Enikanolaiye’s appointment was meant to fill the slot that was created by the appointment of Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu as the Minister for Foreign Affairs after the exit of Tuggar from the post.

Enikanolaiye, who hails from Igbagun, Kogi State, is an experienced career diplomat, with 35 years in Nigeria’s foreign service.

Enikanolaiye attained a First Class degree in Political Science from Ahmadu Bello University, where he won the Dean’s Prize as the best student in his department, and a master’s degree in International Law and Diplomacy from the University of Lagos with distinction.

He began his career at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in August 1982, climbed up the ladder to become the Director, and became the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry in 2016 before retiring on August 4, 2017.

He was stationed in many foreign capitals such as Addis Ababa, Belgrade, Ottawa, London, and New Delhi, while the last foreign mission station he served in was India as the Head of Mission for Nigeria there.

Among many accolades, he received the Presidential Civil Service Merit Award, the Presidential Distinguished Public Service Career Award, and he is also a Distinguished Fellow of the National Defence College.

Prior to his appointment, Enikanolaiye had been the Senior Special Assistant to Tinubu on Foreign Affairs and International Relations in the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President.

Tegbe, who hails from Ibadan, Oyo State, has amassed over 35 years of experience in the corporate and public sectors in one of the most delicate portfolios in the Federal Executive Council.

He possesses a degree in Civil Engineering (First Class) from Obafemi Awolowo University, an MBA from Switzerland, and an MPA from the University of Birmingham.

He held the position of Senior Partner and Head of Advisory Services in KPMG Africa where he oversaw the design and implementation of major presidential reform initiatives and restructuring fiscal policies at both the federal and sub-national levels.

Among other organizations he worked with include Nigerian Communications Commission, Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, Nigeria Revenue Service, Shell, Huawei, General Electric and MTN.

Also, he serves as the Director-General and Global Liaison for the Nigeria-China Strategic Partnership.

Tinubu appointed the first composition of his Federal Executive Council on August 21, 2023, inducting 45 ministers during the swearing-in ceremony held at the State House Conference Centre – the largest one-time cabinet induction ceremony in Nigeria since 1999.

A major reshuffle took place in the first ten months of 2024.

From there onward, several other individual appointments have taken place within the cabinet.

So far, there have been at least 12 individual appointments, replacements, and portfolio transfers.