Dakingari: How an Unconfirmed Name Appeared on Ambassadorial Posting List Before Withdrawal

The presidency has withdrawn the nomination of Usman Dakingari as Nigeria’s ambassador-designate to Turkey after it emerged that his name was not among those confirmed by the Senate.

On Thursday evening, the presidency announced the posting of four ambassador-designates, stating that the appointments were drawn “out of the 68 confirmed by the Senate last December.” Dakingari, a former governor of Kebbi State, was listed as ambassador-designate to Turkey.

The announcement also named Kayode Are, former director-general of the Department of State Services (DSS), as ambassador-designate to the United States; Ayodele Oke, former director-general of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), as ambassador-designate to France; and Amin Mohammed Dalhatu as ambassador-designate to South Korea.

Less than 24 hours later, Dakingari’s name was removed from the list without detailed explanation.

The reversal has raised questions about how a nominee not confirmed by the Senate was initially presented as part of the approved list.

Under the Constitution, ambassadorial nominees submitted by the president must be confirmed by the Senate by name. Once confirmation is concluded, the approved list is considered final, and substitutions are not permitted outside a fresh nomination and confirmation process.

The presidency’s initial statement implied that Dakingari’s posting flowed directly from the Senate’s confirmation exercise. However, a review of the list transmitted to the Senate by President Bola Tinubu in December shows that Dakingari’s name was not among those screened and approved.

That list contained 68 names: 34 career ambassadorial nominees, 31 non-career nominees, and three previously cleared candidates. From Kebbi State, the confirmed career nominees were Abubakar Musa Musa and Ambassador Haidara Mohammed Idris. No non-career nominee from the state was listed among those approved.

Dakingari’s absence from both the career and non-career confirmation lists has intensified scrutiny of the process that led to his brief inclusion in the presidency’s announcement.

Observers say the issue goes beyond the timing or destination of diplomatic postings, focusing instead on the accuracy of claims regarding Senate confirmation and the integrity of official records.

The development comes amid recent concerns about discrepancies between legislative approvals and published official documents. Weeks earlier, Abdussamad Dasuki, a member of the House of Representatives from Sokoto State, alleged that certain tax laws gazetted by the government differed from versions passed by the National Assembly, with disputed provisions appearing after legislative consideration had ended.