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Bola Tinubu To Approve Creation Of Ijebu State
President Bola Tinubu is set to endorse the creation of Ijebu State following a crucial meeting with the Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona.
According to People’s Gazette, the meeting, held on January 5 at Tinubu’s Lagos residence, addressed the long-standing request for Ijebu State to be carved out of Ogun State.
Tinubu gave the Awujale his strongest assurances that he will endorse the creation of Ijebu State as a carve-out from Ogun State, dismissing backlash about its viability in light of Nigeria’s raging economic woes.
The Awujale explained that Ijebu is the only colonial-era province without statehood.
The president received the revered traditional ruler at his Bourdillon residence on January 5 and promised his guest that he won’t withhold support for the proposed state just northeast of Lagos, sources familiar with the details told The Gazette under anonymity to discuss privileged conversations.
At the meeting, Adetona lamented how Ijebu remained the only province from the colonial era not to have its own state, decades after its erstwhile peers like Oyo and Sokoto provinces had been subdivided into multiple functioning states, our sources said.
“The president didn’t allow Awujale to overflog the matter before acquiescing,” one of our sources said out of Abuja. It was the first time Tinubu would clearly telegraph his position on the proposed state, although it remained unclear where he would land on other states under consideration before the parliament.
The meeting mentioned Anioma, out of Delta, among potential new states, which lawmakers are discussing as part of another amendment to the 1999 Constitution.
Presidential spokespersons declined to go on record about the meeting, citing its implications for proponents of other new states across the country, who might view the president’s meeting as unduly exclusionary.
An establishment bill for Ijebu State was introduced to the National Assembly in November 2024 when Senator Gbenga Daniel of Ogun East sponsored it, bringing a decades-long hankering of the million-strong Ijebu tribal stock closer to realisation.
Daniel, a former governor of Ogun, conveyed agitations of his kinspeople for an independent state that can sustain itself upon excision from Ogun State to fellow legislators. Mr Daniel sought an alteration of the nation’s constitution to allow the creation of Ijebu State.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio then advanced the bill—titled the “Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2024 (Creation of Ijebu State)—and it is now advancing through legislative stages. Several other states are also being discussed to expand Nigeria’s federating units from the current 36 states to as many as 56, meaning up to 20 new states
But some lawmakers and everyday Nigerians have slammed the bill as ill-timed and questioned its value at a time of endemic poverty, chronic inflation, crushing debts, moribund power infrastructure and insecurity.
Critics also said Tinubu was trying to expand Nigeria’s states from 36 because he assumed new states would feel liberated and easily back him for a second term—although it remained unlikely new states would be created before the 2027 elections. Concerns were also raised about how protracted crises may break out among competing interests even within a newly formed state.
However, during the meeting, Awujale urged the president to discount those concerns, insisting that a new Ijebu State would accelerate the development of its constituent units through internally generated revenue and statutory federal allocations.
In December 2024, Adetona, with the help of the Akarigbo of Remo, Adewale Ajayi, hosted traditional rulers and prominent indigenes of the Ijebu province to work out the modalities for the creation of Ijebu State.
These include a suitable state capital, an appropriate and equitable number of local government areas, senatorial districts, federal constituencies and other issues.
Adetona said Ijebu province was “economically-viable” and well-positioned for independence, making boast of the region’s vast swathes of land and infrastructure, from an industrial estate to an international airport still under construction.
“ljebu province is economically viable and already has all the infrastructural facilities that can sustain the state,” Mr Adetona said in his speech to Ijebu stakeholders at his palace on December 19.
‘Such include major industrial estates, like the Flowergate Industrial Estate, the fastest growing industrial estates in Nigeria, an international airport, with potential for a deep sea port, two international sports stadia in ljebu Ode and Sagamu,” the monarch further stated.
President Bola Tinubu has approved a minor reshuffle of the Federal Executive Council, removing the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, and the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa.
This was disclosed in a statement on Tuesday by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Yomi Odunuga, citing a memo signed by SGF George Akume.
According to the memo, Taiwo Oyedele has been appointed as the new Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy.
Also appointed is Dr. Muttaqha Darma as Minister-designate for Housing and Urban Development.
The memo directed the outgoing ministers to complete handover processes to their respective successors or supervising officials.
It stated that all handing over and taking over activities must be concluded on or before the close of business on Thursday, 23rd April, 2026.
Explaining the decision, Akume said the changes were aimed at improving coordination and strengthening delivery across key sectors of the economy under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
“These changes are aimed at strengthening cohesion, synergy in governance as well as achieving more impactful delivery on the economy to Nigerians, through the Renewed Hope Agenda,” Akume stated.
He added that President Tinubu acted in line with his constitutional powers as provided under Sections 147 and 148 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
The SGF also conveyed the President’s appreciation to the outgoing ministers for their service to the nation and wished them well in their future endeavours, noting that the process of cabinet reinvigoration would remain continuous.
The statement further noted that Taiwo Oyedele was appointed as Minister of State for Finance in March 2026, while Edun was among the ministers appointed on August 16, 2023.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has officially nominated Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Dr. Taiwo Oyedele as the new Minister of State for Finance.
Oyedele replaces Dr. Doris Anite-Uzoka, who has been redeployed to the Ministry of Budget and National Planning as Minister of State, her third portfolio in the administration.
The President on Tuesday conveyed Oyedele’s nomination to the Senate for confirmation in a letter to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, according to a statement by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, on Tuesday.
Until Tinubu nominated him as a minister, Oyedele from Ikaram, Akoko, Ondo State, was the chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, which overhauled Nigeria’s tax system.
The 50-year-old is an economist, accountant, and public policy expert who led the comprehensive overhaul of Nigeria’s tax system through the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms.
The committee, inaugurated in August 2023, delivered four executive bills that consolidated over 60 taxes into fewer than 10 statutes and introduced significant reforms, including zero income tax for Nigerians earning N800,000 annually or less.
The Tax Reform Acts, which became effective on January 1, 2026, also exempted small businesses with turnover below N50m from company income tax, capital gains tax, and development levy.
Other provisions include a 50 per cent tax deduction for companies hiring new workers for three years, a 50 per cent deduction for wage increases to the lowest-paid employees, and a five-year corporate tax holiday for agricultural enterprises.
Oyedele attended Yaba College of Technology, where he obtained a Higher National Diploma in Accountancy and Finance, before proceeding to Oxford Brookes University for a BSc in Applied Accounting.
He also completed executive education programmes at the London School of Economics, Yale University, the Gordon Institute of Business Science, and the Harvard Kennedy School.
Oyedele spent 22 years at PricewaterhouseCoopers, joining in 2001 and rising to become the Fiscal Policy Partner and Africa Tax Leader before his appointment to head the tax reform committee.
He is currently a professor at Babcock University in Ogun State and a visiting scholar at the Lagos Business School.
As Minister of State for Finance, Oyedele is expected to oversee the implementation of the tax reforms he championed, particularly as the government seeks to improve revenue generation and deepen economic reforms.
Anite-Uzoka, who is being redeployed to the Ministry of Budget and National Planning, previously served as Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment before her appointment as Minister of State for Finance.
The Senate is expected to screen and confirm Oyedele’s nomination in the coming weeks, following which he will be sworn in to assume his ministerial duties.
The Finance Ministry, currently led by Wale Edun as substantive minister, oversees fiscal policy, revenue mobilisation, debt management, and economic planning.
Taiwo Adegbodu, one half of the popular Nigerian gospel duo Adegbodu Twins, has passed away.
The tragic news was officially confirmed by his twin brother and musical partner, Kehinde Adegbodu, through a heartfelt post on the duo’s official Facebook handle.
In a heartfelt post, Kehinde conveyed his profound grief over the loss of both his brother and ministry partner.
He wrote: “TAIWO, why will you leave me and your kids without notification?
My heart is bleeding, Lord how do you want me to cope without him?
God why? This is too much for me to bear!!!”
Taiwo and Kehinde Adegbodu were renowned in gospel circles for their spirited worship sessions, twin-stage performances, and dynamic ministrations, which resonated with churches and Christian gatherings across Nigeria.
Their music and live performances earned them a devoted following, particularly in the South-West region.
As of the time of this report, the cause of Taiwo Adegbodu’s death and details of his funeral arrangements have not been disclosed.
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