President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has nominated Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe as minister of power, in a move the presidency says is aimed at deepening reforms in Nigeria’s troubled electricity sector.
The nomination has been forwarded to the Senate for screening and confirmation, in line with constitutional requirements. According to the State House,
Tinubu expects Tegbe to bring extensive experience in fiscal reform, governance, and institutional restructuring to the ministry at a time the government is seeking to improve grid stability and attract long-term investment into the power sector.
The nomination follows the resignation of former Power Minister Adebayo Adelabu, who the presidency said stepped down to pursue elective office.
Tegbe, an indigene of Oyo State, is widely known as a corporate strategist and reform consultant with more than three decades of experience across the public and private sectors. He previously served as Partner and Head of Advisory Services at KPMG Nigeria and later retired from the firm in October 2023, according to his personal profile. His career has focused on institutional transformation, public sector reform, strategy development, and large-scale advisory work across industries including government, telecommunications, financial services, oil and gas, and manufacturing.
Before his latest nomination, Tegbe was appointed Director-General and Global Liaison for the Nigeria-China Strategic Partnership, a role created after agreements reached between Nigeria and China during President Tinubu’s 2024 engagements with Beijing. In that position, he was tasked with coordinating implementation of bilateral development priorities and aligning them with Nigeria’s national economic goals.
Tegbe’s academic and professional background is also likely to feature prominently during his Senate screening. He studied Civil Engineering at the University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University, graduating with a First-Class degree in 1988. He is also a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria. Additional executive education listed in his public profiles includes Lagos Business School, INSEAD, Harvard Kennedy School, and Harvard Business School.
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His record in reform advisory work includes engagements tied to Nigeria’s power sector, especially around regulatory and institutional issues involving agencies such as the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission and the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company, according to the presidency. Supporters of the nomination say that experience could prove important as the administration pushes for more reliable electricity supply, stronger market governance, and increased private capital in generation, transmission, and distribution.
Tegbe is not new to public-facing leadership. Earlier profiles in Nigerian media described him as a technocrat with roots in Oyo politics and a long-standing interest in governance and development. The Guardian, in a 2018 profile, described him as a first-class engineering graduate from Oyo State who moved from top-level consulting into partisan politics.
If confirmed by the Senate, Tegbe will take over a ministry central to Tinubu’s economic agenda, with expectations that he will help accelerate reforms meant to stabilize the national grid, strengthen institutions in the electricity market, and improve power supply for households and businesses.
Crediblenewsng.com
