The presidency, on Thursday, listed Usman Dakingari, former governor of Kebbi, as an ambassador-designate to Turkey despite his name not appearing on the list of nominees confirmed by the senate.
The presidency had on Thursday evening announced the posting of four ambassador-designates, among whom was Dakingari, saying the appointments were made “out of the 68 confirmed by the Senate last December”. ”.
Kayode Are, former director-general of the Department of State Services (DSS), was appointed Nigeria’s ambassador-designate to the United States.
Ayodele Oke, former director-general of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), was posted to France; Amin Dalhatu, former ambassador to South Korea.
However, the presidency withdrew Dakingari’s posting barely 24 hours after the announcement.
The withdrawal raised questions about how a name not confirmed by the senate could be presented as part of the list.
Under the constitution, the senate confirms ambassadorial nominees submitted by the president by name, not by vacancy or post-confirmation substitution.
Once confirmation is concluded, the list of approved nominees is deemed final.
However, the presidency’s statement suggests that Dakingari’s posting flows from the senate’s confirmation exercise.
The list transmitted to the senate by President Bola Tinubu in December was screened, debated and approved by the upper chamber.
That list comprised 34 career ambassadorial nominees, 31 non-career nominees and three earlier cleared names.
The confirmed career nominees included Abubakar Musa Musa and Mohammed Idris, who are both from Kebbi state.
However, the non-career nominees from Kebbi were not listed among the confirmed names.
Dakingari’s name did not appear on the list acted upon by the senate.
Thirty-four of the confirmed nominees are career ambassadors, while 30 are non-career ambassadors.
The development has sparked concerns about legislative legitimacy and the integrity of official records.
Observers say the issue is not about the timing or destination of postings, but whether senate confirmation is being misrepresented.
The controversy comes weeks after Abdussamad Dasuki, a member of the house of representatives from Sokoto, claimed that the gazetted tax laws are different from the version passed by the national assembly.
In that instance, contentious provisions were said to have appeared in official texts after legislative consideration had ended.
