The Presidency has withdrawn the earlier announcement naming Usman Dakingari Suleiman, a former governor of Kebbi State, as Nigeria’s ambassador-designate to Turkey, citing an error in the initial communication.
The reversal was confirmed late Thursday after Presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, issued a clarification following his earlier statement in which four ambassadorial appointments were announced. In that first release, Onanuga had listed Dakingari as the ambassador-designate to Turkey and noted that President Bola Tinubu, who recently returned from a three-week overseas trip, was scheduled to visit Turkey next week.
However, hours later, the Presidency distanced itself from the announcement concerning the Turkey posting. In a follow-up statement, Onanuga explained that the appointment was affected by a mix-up in names and that the nomination for the Turkey position is currently under review.
“Please note that there was a naming mix-up for the ambassador-designate to Turkey. The posting is undergoing review. Thanks for your understanding,” the spokesman said.
Onanuga clarified that the revision applies only to the Turkey appointment and does not affect the other ambassadorial postings earlier announced. According to him, the nominations of Ayodele Oke as ambassador-designate to France, Lateef Are as ambassador-designate to the United States, and Aminu Dalhatu as high commissioner-designate to the United Kingdom remain unchanged.
He added that President Tinubu has formally communicated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, directing it to notify the governments of France, the United States, and the United Kingdom of the respective ambassadorial nominations in line with established diplomatic procedures.
The Presidency did not provide further details on when a final decision would be made regarding the ambassadorial posting to Turkey.
