The Presidency has withdrawn the appointment of Usman Dakingari, former governor of Kebbi State, as Nigeria’s ambassador-designate to Turkey, barely hours after the posting was announced.
The initial announcement was made on Thursday night by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, who said President Bola Tinubu had approved the deployment of four ambassador-designates from the list earlier confirmed by the Senate.
Under the announcement, Retired Colonel Kayode Are, former Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), was posted to the United States; Ayodele Oke, former Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), to France; Amin Dalhatu, former Nigerian ambassador to South Korea, as high commissioner-designate to the United Kingdom; and Dakingari to Turkey.
Dakingari’s posting was particularly notable as it preceded President Tinubu’s scheduled state visit to Turkey next week.
However, in a fresh statement released on Friday by the State House, the presidency clarified that no ambassador had been appointed to Turkey.
The statement reaffirmed the postings of Are, Oke and Dalhatu but omitted Dakingari’s name, effectively rescinding his appointment.
The presidency did not provide any explanation for the sudden reversal.
Onanuga said President Tinubu had written to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, directing it to notify the governments of the three countries concerned about the approved postings, in line with diplomatic procedures.
The abrupt change has raised questions over the ambassadorial deployment process, coming less than a day after the initial announcement.
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