Aiyegbeni, who notched his second hat-trick of the season in a 3-0 Premier League win over Fulham, is back in the squad after falling out of favour with the Nigerian FA earlier this year.
He was sent home from the 2004 Nations Cup in Tunisia for breaking camp rules and was not called up for Nigeria's friendlies against Mexico in September and Australia and Switzerland last month.
Nigeria coach Berti Vogts also recalled former first-choice goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama, who had been passed over in the build-up to the tournament that will run from Jan. 20 to Feb. 10.
However, the German left out Aiyegbeni's Everton strike partner Victor Anichebe from the squad that will begin a training camp in Malaga, Spain on 4 January.
Anichebe was called up during the qualifiers and the friendlies, but is yet to play a game for Nigeria.
Three players from the domestic league, two of whom were in the team who won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in September, were also called up to train with the other established players to gain experience, Vogts said.
The Nigeria FA said last week it had agreed a new bonus scheme with the players to forestall any potential pay row during the tournament.
Under the new scheme, the players will each receive 49,000 USD if they win the tournament.
Nigeria are drawn in Group B with Ivory Coast, Mali and Benin for the first round preliminary matches. The Super Eagles have won the African Nations Cup twice, in 1980 as hosts and in 1994 in Tunisia.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Austin Ejide (Bastia), Dele Aiyenugba (Bnei Yehuda), Vincent Enyeama (Hapoel Tel Aviv).
Defenders: Rabiu Afolabi (Sochaux), Danny Shittu (Watford), Onyekachi Apam (Nice), Obinna Nwaneri (FC Sion), Joseph Yobo (Everton), Ifeanyi Emeghara (Steaua Bucharest), Kingsley Udoh (Akwa United), Efe Ambrose (Kaduna United), Taye Taiwo (Olympique Marseille).
Midfielders: Seyi Olofinjana (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Dickson Etuhu (Sunderland), Richard Eromoigbe (Levski Sofia), John Obi Mikel (Chelsea), Sani Kaita (Sparta Rotterdam), Onyekachi Okonkwo (FC Zurich), Yusuf Ayila (Dynamo Kiev), Lukman Haruna (Crystal Academy), Rabiu Ibrahim (Sporting Lisbon), Oladapo Olufemi (Boavista)
Forwards: Nwankwo Kanu (Portsmouth), John Utaka (Portsmouth), Osaze Odemwingie (Lokomotiv Moscow), Mannaseh Ishiaku (Duisburg), Ikechukwu Uche (Getafe), Yakubu Aiyegbeni (Everton), Ayodele Makinwa (Lazio), Obinna Nsofor (Chievo Verona), Obafemi Martins (Newcastle United).