By Samuel Akpan
President Bola Tinubu has formally forwarded the name of Mr. Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe to the Senate for screening and confirmation as a minister just days after the resignation of Power Minister Adebayo Adelabu.
Persecondnews recalls that Adelabu had stepped down to pursue the Oyo State governorship ambition.
In the letter read on Tuesday by Senate President Godswill Akpabio during plenary, President Tinubu stated: “In compliance with the provisions of Section 147 subsection 2 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1991 as amended, I am pleased to forward for confirmation by the Senate the nomination of Mr Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe as Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
He added: “While I hope this request will receive the expeditious consideration of the Senate, please accept, Distinguished Senate President, Distinguished Senators, the assurances of my highest regards.”
Akpabio promised the chamber that the president’s request would be prioritized, immediately referring the matter to the Committee of the Whole for fast-track processing.
Mr Tegbe, an indigene of Oyo State, brings over 35 years of distinguished experience as a fiscal and economic reform expert across both the public and private sectors.
He previously served as Senior Partner and Head of Advisory Services at KPMG Africa, where he spearheaded major initiatives in fiscal policy reform, institutional transformation, and governance improvement.
He has also provided strategic counsel to several key government institutions and leading private-sector organisations on regulatory frameworks, investment structuring, and comprehensive reform programmes aimed at strengthening economic governance.
The nomination comes barely a week after Adebayo Adelabu resigned his position as Minister of Power to focus on his gubernatorial ambition in Oyo State, triggering the fresh search for a replacement at the federal level.
Tegbe, a seasoned technocrat and fiscal reform expert from Oyo State, has built a distinguished 35-year career spanning engineering, accounting, management consulting, public sector advisory, and international economic partnerships.
His professional journey is marked by landmark contributions to institutional transformation, digital infrastructure, revenue generation, and strategic investment across Nigeria and Africa.
Tegbe’s academic foundation laid the groundwork for his success. He graduated with First Class Honours in Civil Engineering from Obafemi Awolowo University (formerly University of Ife) in 1988 as a national scholar and multiple award-winning student.
He later earned credentials from elite institutions including Lagos Business School, INSEAD in France, Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and Harvard Business School.
He holds fellowships as FCA (Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria) and FCIT (Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria), and is certified in Governance of Enterprise IT (CGEIT).
Early in his career, Tegbe served as a system engineer with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation during his NYSC year.
He joined Arthur Andersen Business Consulting in 1989, rising through the ranks before moving to Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) in 1991–1992 as Head of Materials Accounting on contract.
He transitioned to KPMG Professional Services in Nigeria around 2001–2002, where he spent over two decades and became Senior Partner and Head of Advisory Services, later heading Technology Advisory Services and Markets.
He also served as KPMG Africa Lead for Cybersecurity practice, Public Sector, and Technology, Media & Telecommunications (TMT), extending his influence to the Middle East.
At KPMG, Tegbe led high-impact transformation projects that reshaped key sectors.
He developed the Infraco model that accelerated Nigeria’s telecom sector growth and contributed significantly to GDP.
He crafted the national Broadband blueprint, boosting internet penetration. He masterminded the repositioning of the Federal Inland Revenue Service’s (FIRS) Finance & Accounts function, blocking leakages and enhancing national revenue.
He also drove ERP/IT implementations (SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics) and quality reviews across Africa, while providing transaction advisory on state bond issuances — including N50 billion for Bayelsa (2010), N50 billion for Delta (2011), and N5 billion for Oyo (2014).
Additionally, he led finance and revenue service transformations in multiple states (Bayelsa, Delta, Ondo, Oyo, Benue) between 2006 and 2014.
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