PRESIDENT Bola Ahmed Tinubu has set aside the appointment of former Kebbi State governor, Usman Isa Dakingari Suleiman, as Nigeria’s ambassador-designate to Turkey, barely hours after the State House officially announced his posting.
The sudden reversal was confirmed in a revised State House press release sent to News Point Nigeria early on Friday, which omitted Dakingari’s name from the list of approved postings and clarified that no ambassador has yet been designated for Turkey.
In the earlier statement signed by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, President Tinubu had approved the posting of four ambassadors-designate from the list of 68 nominees confirmed by the Senate in December.
The initial release named:
Ambassador Ayodele Oke as ambassador-designate to France
Colonel Lateef Are (rtd) as ambassador-designate to the United States of America
Ambassador Amin Dalhatu, former envoy to South Korea, as High Commissioner-designate to the United Kingdom
Usman Isa Dakingari Suleiman, former Kebbi State governor, as ambassador-designate to Turkey
The statement also noted that President Tinubu was scheduled to embark on a state visit to Turkey next week, giving added significance to the posting.
However, in a second press release issued hours later, the Presidency announced a revised approval, this time confirming the posting of only three ambassadors-designate, with Turkey conspicuously excluded.
The revised statement retained the postings of Oke (France), Are (United States), and Dalhatu (United Kingdom), but stated explicitly that no ambassador-designate has been approved for Turkey yet.
“No ambassador for Turkey yet,” the statement read, effectively nullifying the earlier announcement involving Dakingari.
The Presidency did not provide any explanation for the sudden change, nor did it indicate whether the Turkish posting had been suspended temporarily or withdrawn entirely.
Similarly, no clarification was offered on whether Dakingari remains under consideration for the role or if another nominee will be named at a later date.
Diplomatic sources told News Point Nigeria that such last-minute revisions, while uncommon, may arise from procedural, diplomatic, or background clearance issues, especially where formal notifications to host countries have not yet been issued.
In both statements, President Tinubu directed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to notify the relevant host governments in line with diplomatic protocols.
However, the revised memo limited this instruction to France, the United States, and the United Kingdom, effectively excluding Turkey from the current batch of postings.
The postings are part of a broader diplomatic exercise following the Senate confirmation of 68 ambassadors-designate late last year, as Nigeria moves to fully restore its diplomatic presence after months of vacancies across key missions.
The staggered deployment suggests that the Presidency may be prioritising strategic postings while finalising decisions on others.
The absence of an appointed ambassador to Turkey has also drawn attention ahead of President Tinubu’s planned state visit to Ankara, where bilateral talks are expected to focus on trade, defence cooperation, energy, and infrastructure investment.