Tinubu Swears In New Power Minister and Foreign Affairs Ministe

President Bola Tinubu on Monday, June 8, 2026, swore in Mr Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe as the new Minister of Power and Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye as the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, filling two key cabinet vacancies that had been open since early May.

The ceremony took place at the Council Chamber in the presence of the new ministers’ spouses and senior government officials. Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga confirmed the event in a statement released immediately after the brief but formal inauguration.

Tegbe, a native of Ibadan in Oyo State, takes over one of the most politically sensitive portfolios in the Federal Executive Council. He brings more than 35 years of professional experience across the public and private sectors, with a strong background in fiscal policy restructuring, stakeholder engagement, and institutional reform. He holds a First Class degree in Civil Engineering from Obafemi Awolowo University and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Switzerland. His professional engagements include work with the Nigerian Communications Commission, MTN, Shell, Huawei, General Electric, and the Odu’a Group.

Enikanolaiye Brings Decades of Diplomatic Experience

Ambassador Enikanolaiye, from Igbagun in Kogi State, is a career diplomat with 35 years in Nigeria’s foreign service. He graduated as the best student in his faculty from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, with a First Class degree in Political Science, and earned a Master’s degree in International Law and Diplomacy from the University of Lagos with distinction. He served in Nigeria’s diplomatic missions in Ethiopia, Serbia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and India before his most recent role as Senior Special Assistant to President Tinubu on Foreign Affairs.

The two men were nominated by President Tinubu on May 5, 2026, following the resignations of former Power Minister Adebayo Adelabu and former Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf Tuggar, both of whom stepped down to contest APC primary elections in their home states. The Senate screened and confirmed both nominees on May 6, 2026.

Enikanolaiye’s swearing-in fills the position of Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, which had been held by Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu before she was elevated to the full ministerial role following Tuggar’s resignation. The new appointments are the second set of ministerial inaugurations under Tinubu in 2026, following the earlier swearing-in of the Minister of Housing in April. Furthermore, the cabinet changes come at a critical period as the Tinubu administration faces pressure on multiple fronts, including the energy sector’s persistent power supply challenges and a demanding foreign policy agenda.

Pressure Mounts on New Power Minister

Notably, Tegbe inherits a power sector under intense public scrutiny, with millions of Nigerians enduring unreliable electricity supply despite years of reform promises. The national grid has suffered multiple collapses in 2026, and the government has faced sustained criticism over the slow pace of improvements in generation, transmission, and distribution infrastructure. Consequently, analysts say his performance will be one of the most closely watched indicators of the Tinubu administration’s governance record heading into the 2027 elections.