President Bola Tinubu has removed Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite as Minister of State for Finance and replaced her with Mr. Taiwo Oyedele in a sweeping cabinet reshuffle that has stirred political debate.
The development came just one week after a tense budget defence session at the National Assembly. During the hearing, Hon. Alex Mascot Ikwechegh, who represents Aba North/Aba South Federal Constituency, confronted the Finance Ministry over ₦1.15 trillion in approved capital funds that had not been disbursed. Capital projects across the country reportedly remain at zero percent execution.
At the February 25 session of the House Appropriation Committee, Ikwechegh, a member of the Committee on Aids, Loans and Debt Management, presented documents outlining several approved loans and funding packages. These included:
$1.2 billion for digital infrastructure
$500 million for economic stimulus
$500 million for MSME support (December 2025)
$500 million AfDB facility for economic governance and energy transition (approved November 2025)
$21 million, ¥15 billion and €4 billion in recent executive loan requests
₦1.15 trillion, representing 30 percent of the 2025 capital budget, approved but not disbursed
Despite these approvals and record revenues from agencies such as FIRS and Customs, Ikwechegh questioned why capital projects had yet to receive funding.
“With all these funds put together, I want you to enlighten us on why the 2024 budget is yet to be fully implemented and why the 2025 budget has only been funded 34 percent, most of which is recurrent expenditure,” he said.
He then asked why capital allocations for 2026 still stood at zero.
When pressed for answers, Minister of Finance Wale Edun referred questions on disbursements to the Minister of State, Doris Uzoka-Anite. The committee subsequently summoned her to appear the next day.
Uzoka-Anite confirmed that ₦1.15 trillion had been approved but said some ministries failed to meet “pre-disbursement conditions.” However, when asked to name any ministry that met all requirements yet did not receive funds, she could not provide a specific example.
The exchange raised concerns among lawmakers. Ikwechegh later warned that if any irregularity was established, it could amount to misappropriation of funds.
Exactly one week after the initial confrontation, the presidency announced changes to the cabinet. In a statement issued by presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga, Uzoka-Anite was redeployed to the Ministry of Budget and National Planning as Minister of State. It marks her third portfolio in two years, following earlier roles in Trade and Investment and Finance.
Taiwo Oyedele, an economist and former chair of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, was named as her replacement. The 50-year-old tax expert and former PwC fiscal policy partner now awaits Senate confirmation.
The official statement did not reference the budget defence session. However, the timing has fueled public speculation.
For many Nigerians, the sequence of events highlights the power of legislative oversight. A lawmaker raised questions about undisbursed funds. A minister struggled to provide answers. Days later, a cabinet reshuffle followed.
Yet one issue remains unresolved: the whereabouts of the ₦1.15 trillion approved for capital projects.
If funds were appropriated, borrowed, and generated but failed to reach their intended projects, the implications could be significant. While the minister’s removal marks a political development, it does not close the accountability gap.
The question now is whether further investigation will follow, and whether Nigerians will get clear answers on how the approved capital funds were handled.
