President Bola Tinubu has sent multiple requests to the Senate, including the confirmation of key appointments and the 2026 statutory budget for the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA). The letters were read on Tuesday by Senate President Godswill Akpabio following a three-week recess for the budget defence exercise.
One request seeks the confirmation of Olusegun Oyedele as Minister of State for Finance. Oyedele, who chaired Tinubu’s tax reforms committee and previously served as Africa tax leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), will replace Doris Uzoka-Anite, who is set to move to the Ministry of Budget and National Planning. Oyedele, 50, is an accountant and economist with a Higher National Diploma in accountancy and finance from Yaba College of Technology and a BSc in applied accounting from Oxford Brookes University.
The President also requested Senate confirmation of Magnus Abe as Chairman of the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and two commissioner nominees. Another letter seeks confirmation of Mainasara Illo as Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Anti-Doping Centre; this nomination was referred to the Senate committees on Narcotics, Drugs, and Sports for joint screening.
Additionally, Francis Ifeanyi Asogwa has been nominated as a commissioner representing the South-East in a federal commission, with the referral sent to the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights, and Legal Matters. The President also submitted requests to confirm two nominees as commissioners of the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission: Amina Gamawa from Bauchi State and Abdullahi Murktar from Kaduna State.
All nominations and the FCTA budget have been referred to the relevant committees for legislative review and consideration.
