The Nigerian Senate on Wednesday confirmed the appointment of Taiwo Oyedele as Minister of State for Finance following nearly three hours of questioning by lawmakers on key economic and fiscal policy issues.
During the confirmation hearing, Oyedele outlined strategies aimed at stabilising government revenue, improving contractor payments, and expanding Nigeria’s income sources beyond crude oil and taxation.
Addressing Nigeria’s heavy reliance on oil revenue, Oyedele proposed the use of forward crude sales to help protect the economy from price volatility while ensuring predictable fuel pricing.
“One strategy used in several countries is selling crude forward. Nigeria can lock in a price for a portion of our crude for a period of time.
“That would guarantee budget financing and also give Nigerians stability, so prices are not fluctuating the way we have seen in recent days,” he said.
On the persistent issue of delayed contractor payments, Oyedele warned that payment delays often inflate project costs and erode trust between government and contractors.
He suggested that contracts should only be awarded when funding is available to avoid what he described as a “trust deficit premium,” where the cost of a project initially valued at ₦1bn could rise to ₦2bn due to delayed payments.
The nominee also emphasised the need for Nigeria to explore other revenue opportunities beyond oil and taxation.
“For many years as a country, we have disproportionately focused on taxation and oil and gas, and that has taken our attention away from other areas where we can generate revenue,” Oyedele said.
Highlighting the potential of the solid minerals sector, he noted that policy inconsistency remains a major obstacle to growth.
“What we have identified as the biggest impediment to the growth of the solid minerals sector is policy uncertainty.
“The team and the Minister of Solid Minerals have been doing a lot, but we need to complement that with a policy certainty environment. We may be coming to the National Assembly in this regard,” he added.
Oyedele further stressed the importance of aligning government spending with realistic revenue projections and ensuring full execution of approved projects.
“When we have budgets, we need to ensure that there is funding behind them and that there are releases so that we can execute them — 100 per cent if possible — particularly for capital expenditure,” he said.
Reflecting on recent fiscal patterns, he observed that many national budgets have been overly ambitious relative to available revenue.
“Looking at Nigeria’s budgets over the past five years, many appeared too ambitious compared to the revenue. We were focusing on expenditure without paying enough attention to the revenue side,” he added.
Oyedele also pointed out that nearly half of Nigeria’s annual budgets are currently financed through deficits.
Following the screening, the Senate formally confirmed his appointment.
Reacting to the confirmation, Senate President Godswill Akpabio commended Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the nomination, describing Oyedele as “a round peg for a round hole.”
Akpabio also praised the new minister’s expertise and expressed confidence in his ability to contribute to Nigeria’s economic reforms.
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