By Obinna Uballa
The Presidency has withdrawn the posting of Usman Dakingari, former governor of Kebbi State, as Nigeria’s ambassador-designate to Turkey, less than 24 hours after the appointment was publicly announced.
The reversal followed a statement issued late Thursday by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, confirming President Bola Tinubu’s approval of the posting of four ambassador-designates from the list of nominees earlier confirmed by the Senate.
According to that announcement, Retired Colonel Kayode Are, former Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), was named ambassador-designate to the United States; Ayodele Oke, former Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), was posted to France; Amin Dalhatu, former Nigerian ambassador to South Korea, was appointed high commissioner-designate to the United Kingdom; while Dakingari was designated ambassador to Turkey.
Dakingari’s posting drew attention because it came ahead of Tinubu’s scheduled state visit to Turkey next week.
However, in a fresh statement released on Friday by the State House, the presidency announced a change, clarifying that no ambassador had been appointed to Turkey.
The new statement reaffirmed the postings of Are to the United States, Oke to France, and Dalhatu to the United Kingdom, but conspicuously omitted Dakingari’s name, effectively rescinding his appointment.
No reason was given for the sudden withdrawal.
Onanuga further disclosed that Tinubu had formally communicated the appointments of the three remaining ambassador-designates to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, directing the ministry to notify the governments of the affected countries in line with established diplomatic procedures.
The development has sparked fresh intrigue around the ambassadorial deployment process, coming barely hours after the initial announcement.
