President Bola Tinubu on Monday swore in Joseph Tegbe as Minister of Power and Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs during a ceremony held at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
The inauguration followed the resignation of at least two ministers ahead of the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary elections scheduled for May 2026.
According to a statement issued by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the swearing-in ceremony took place at the Council Chamber and was attended by the ministers’ spouses, senior government officials and members of the Federal Executive Council.
Tegbe and Enikanolaiye were nominated by President Tinubu on May 5, 2026, after former Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, and former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, resigned their positions to pursue elective political offices. The Senate screened and confirmed both nominees on May 6.
The appointments mark the second set of ministerial inductions into the Federal Executive Council since Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Dr. Muttaqha Darma, issued a directive in March requiring ministers seeking elective positions to resign before party primaries.
Darma himself was sworn in as Minister of Housing and Urban Development on April 30, 2026, replacing Ahmed Dangiwa as part of a cabinet reshuffle that also saw Taiwo Oyedele succeed Wale Edun as Minister of Finance.
Before his appointment, Enikanolaiye served as Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and International Relations. His elevation fills the vacancy created when Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu was promoted to substantive Minister of Foreign Affairs following Tuggar’s resignation.
A native of Igbagun in Kogi State, Enikanolaiye is a seasoned diplomat with more than three decades of experience in Nigeria’s foreign service. He holds a First Class degree in Political Science from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and a Master’s degree in International Law and Diplomacy from the University of Lagos.
He joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1982, rose through the ranks to become Permanent Secretary in 2016 and retired from the civil service in 2017. During his diplomatic career, he served in Addis Ababa, Belgrade, Ottawa, London and New Delhi, where he completed his final posting as Nigeria’s High Commissioner to India.
Enikanolaiye is a recipient of several national honours, including the Presidential Civil Service Merit Award and the Presidential Distinguished Public Service Career Award.
Tegbe, an Ibadan-born engineer and management consultant, brings more than 35 years of experience in both the public and private sectors to the Ministry of Power.
He holds a First Class degree in Civil Engineering from Obafemi Awolowo University, an MBA from Switzerland and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Birmingham.
Prior to his appointment, Tegbe served as Senior Partner and Head of Advisory Services at KPMG Africa, where he led major reform initiatives and fiscal restructuring programmes at federal and state levels.
His professional experience spans key institutions and organisations, including the Nigerian Communications Commission, Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, Shell, Huawei, General Electric and MTN. He also served as Director-General and Global Liaison of the Nigeria-China Strategic Partnership.
The appointments come as the Tinubu administration continues to reshape its cabinet ahead of the 2026 political season while seeking to sustain policy implementation across key sectors of government.
