Who Smuggled Dakingari’s Name into List of Ambassador-designates?

When will the Presidency publicly sanction officials who have continued to bring embarrassments to it?

This is one question many are asking since it was discovered that the name of a former governor of Kebbi State, Usman Dakingari, appeared on the confirmed list of ambassador-designates.

Penultimate week, the presidency listed Dakingari as Nigeria’s Ambassador to Turkey despite the fact that his name was not among the nominees screened by the DSS and confirmed by the Senate.

On January 22, 2026, the presidency announced the posting of four ambassador-designates, amongst whom was Dakingari, saying the appointments were made “out of the 68 confirmed by the Senate last December”.

From the statement, former Director-General of the DSS, Col. Kayode Are (rtd.), was appointed Nigeria’s ambassador-designate to the United States; former Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ayodele Oke, was posted to France; former ambassador to South Korea, Amin Dalhatu was posted to the United Kingdom, while Dakingari was posted to Turkey.

However, barely 24 hours after the announcement, Dakingari’s posting was withdrawn, raising questions about what could have gone wrong.

It did take long for Nigerians to know that Dakingari’s name was not even originally on the list announced by the president and later sent to the Senate for confirmation. This raised questions about how a name that was not screened and confirmed by the Senate could be presented as one of those confirmed by the lawmakers.

The presidency’s statement suggested that Dakingari’s posting flowed from the Senate’s confirmation exercise.

The only confirmed career nominees from Kebbi State where Dakingari hails from were Abubakar Musa Musa and Mohammed Idris.

The question begging for answers is: At what stage was Dakingari’s name smuggled into the list?

The development has sparked concerns as many have also recalled the withdrawal of the names of dead persons nominated for appointment into offices; the withdrawal of the list of those granted presidential pardon or that of the gazetted tax laws that were allegedly different from the version passed by the National Assembly.

When will the presidency publicly sanction officials that have continued to bring these embarrassments?