Fidelia Soriwei, Abuja
President Bola Tinubu on Monday inaugurated Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe as Minister of Power and Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, filling vacancies created by the resignations of former ministers Adebayo Adelabu and Yusuf Tuggar.
The swearing-in ceremony was held at the Presidential Villa and attended by family members of the appointees as well as senior government officials.
Tegbe and Enikanolaiye were nominated by the President following the departure of their predecessors, who left office to pursue political ambitions. Both nominees were subsequently screened and confirmed by the Senate on May 6, 2026.
The new Minister of Power, Tegbe, is an Ibadan-born policy and reform expert with more than three decades of experience spanning the public and private sectors.
He holds a First Class degree in Civil Engineering from Obafemi Awolowo University, along with master’s degrees in Business Administration and Public Administration obtained in Switzerland and Birmingham, respectively.
Before his appointment, Tegbe served as Senior Partner and Head of Advisory Services at KPMG Africa, where he led major reform initiatives and advised governments on fiscal policy, institutional restructuring and stakeholder engagement.
His professional portfolio includes work with organisations such as the Nigerian Communications Commission, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc, Shell, Huawei, General Electric, MTN and the Odu’a Group.
Enikanolaiye, a career diplomat from Igbagun in Kogi State, graduated with a First Class degree in Political Science from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where he also won the Dean’s Prize as the best student in his faculty. He later earned a distinction in International Law and Diplomacy from the University of Lagos.
He 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 after 35 years of service.
During his diplomatic career, he served in several Nigerian missions abroad, including postings in Ethiopia, Serbia, Canada, the United Kingdom and India, where he was Nigeria’s Head of Mission before returning home.
Prior to his latest appointment, Enikanolaiye was Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and International Relations in the Office of the Chief of Staff.
He is also a recipient of several national honours and professional distinctions, including the Presidential Civil Service Merit Award, the Presidential Distinguished Public Service Career Award and recognition as a Distinguished Fellow of the National Defence College.
