The Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Phrank Shaibu, has slammed the presidency over the announcement and subsequent withdrawal of Usman Dakingari’s appointment as Nigeria’s ambassador to Turkey.
Naijaonpoint reports that Shaibu, in a post on 𝕏, berated the presidency for not providing an official explanation of the issue.
Atiku’s aide further described the incident as the 11th public reversal by the current administration, arguing that such actions create confusion, uncertainty and show disrespect for public institutions.
He also recalled past incidents in which deceased individuals were announced as appointees to positions, while living appointees were embarrassed by sudden reversals.
According to Shaibu, a government that cannot keep track of its own announcements cannot be trusted to run a country, stressing that governance should not be treated like a social media message that can be deleted without accountability.
He also accused the presidency of being obsessed with former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar and Labour Party 2023 presidential candidate Peter Obi, rather than focusing on effective governance.
He wrote, “They’ve appointed the dead before. Now they appointed Dakingari an ambassador and withdrew it before lunch time at ‘Iya Oyo’ without explanation. Usman Dakingari was announced as Turkey ambassador. Minutes later: no appointment ever happened. This is the 11th public reversal by this administration. Eleven times of confusion, uncertainty, and institutional disrespect
“While Nigerians battle hardship, the presidency is obsessed with @atiku and @PeterObi instead of basic competence. A government that can’t track its own announcements can’t run a country.
“@aonanuga1956 governance is not a WhatsApp broadcast that can simply be deleted. Serious governments explain themselves. Serious governments double-check before announcing appointments. Serious governments do not wake up to appoint the dead, embarrass living appointees, and then pretend nothing happened.”