President Bola Tinubu on Monday inaugurated two new members of the Federal Executive Council, swearing in Mr Joseph Tegbe as Minister of Power and Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs during a brief ceremony at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
The inauguration follows the resignation of some cabinet members ahead of the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary elections scheduled for May 2026.
Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, disclosed that the swearing-in ceremony took place at the Council Chamber in the presence of family members, senior government officials and other dignitaries.
The President had nominated both men on May 5, 2026, after former Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, and former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, stepped down from office to pursue elective positions.
The Senate confirmed the appointments a day later, paving the way for their induction into the Federal Executive Council.
The latest appointments make Tegbe and Enikanolaiye the second set of ministers to join the cabinet following the March 2026 directive by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Dr Muttaqha Darma, which required ministers seeking elective offices to resign before party primaries.
Dr Darma himself was sworn in as Minister of Housing and Urban Development on April 30, replacing Ahmed Dangiwa, whose exit formed part of a cabinet reshuffle that also saw Wale Edun leave the Ministry of Finance, with tax expert Taiwo Oyedele succeeding him.
Before his appointment, Ambassador Enikanolaiye served as Senior Special Assistant to President Tinubu on Foreign Affairs and International Relations in the Office of the Chief of Staff. His appointment fills the vacancy created when Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu was elevated to substantive Minister of Foreign Affairs after Tuggar’s resignation.
A seasoned diplomat from Igbagun in Kogi State, Enikanolaiye boasts 35 years of service in Nigeria’s foreign service. He graduated with a First Class degree in Political Science from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where he emerged as the best graduating student in his faculty. He also earned a distinction in his Master’s degree 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 in 2017. During his diplomatic career, he served in Addis Ababa, Belgrade, Ottawa, London and New Delhi, where he completed his service as Nigeria’s Head of Mission in India.
He is a recipient of several honours, 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.
Meanwhile, Joseph Tegbe assumes office as Minister of Power with more than three decades of experience spanning the public and private sectors.
Born in Ibadan, Oyo State, Tegbe holds a First Class degree in Civil Engineering from Obafemi Awolowo University, an MBA from Switzerland and a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Birmingham.
He previously served as Senior Partner and Head of Advisory Services at KPMG Africa, where he spearheaded major reforms and fiscal restructuring programmes at both federal and sub-national levels.
Tegbe has also worked with several institutions and multinational firms, including the Nigerian Communications Commission, Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, Shell, Huawei, General Electric and MTN.
He currently serves as Director-General and Global Liaison of the Nigeria-China Strategic Partnership.
President Tinubu initially constituted his cabinet on August 21, 2023, when he inaugurated 45 ministers, the largest cabinet induction in a single day since Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999.
The administration carried out its first major cabinet reshuffle in October 2024, and subsequent changes have resulted in at least 12 appointments, replacements and portfolio adjustments since then, reflecting the evolving composition of the Federal Executive Council.
