Presidency’s volt face must end

President Bola Tinubu’s administration has become notable for a pattern of rapid appointments followed by abrupt reversals. In the most recent instance, presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga issued a statement announcing the posting of retired Col Lateef Are, Amb. Amin Dalhatu, Amb. Ayodele Oke and Usman Isa Dakingari Suleiman as ambassadors-designate to the United States of America, United Kingdom, France and Türkiye respectively.

Less than 24 hours after the announcement, the presidency issued another statement saying that no ambassador had been decided for Türkiye yet. But releasing a premature statement was not the only snag, because  the name ‘Usman Isa Dakingari Suleiman’ was not on the list forwarded to the Senate for clearance by President Bola Tinubu. The name of former Kebbi Governor is Saidu Usman Nasamu Dakingari, not Usman Isa Dakingari Suleiman as presented by the Presidency.

There were other occasions where the Presidency issued sloppy statements, only to withdraw or update them subsequently. The withdrawal of Maryam Shetty’s ministerial nomination at the Senate gate and the replacement of the Federal Character Commission chairperson Muheeba Dankaka just four hours after reappointment, suggest absence of due diligence and lack of thorough vetting before official communication.

The actions also caused institutional uncertainty as happened in the case of the leadership at agencies like the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) where a new Director General Mr Rotimi Pedro  was ‘appointed’ before the one in office Mr Salihu Dembos served out his three-year term.  Mr Dembos and some of his management colleagues were, at the time, part of the federal government’s delegation to a three-day citizens’ engagement tour of Enugu and Ebonyi states, an event led by the Minister of information and National Orientation.  A similar scenario happened at NIPOST, which briefly had two competing Postmaster-General.

Other appointments that were reversed include that of Imam Ibrahim Kashim, who was appointed chairman of the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA), who the public felt that he was too young for a job that required extensive experience.  Also, Yazid Shehu Umar Danfulani was initially announced as the Executive Secretary of the Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF) while the tenure of Fatima Shinkafi, the incumbent, had not expired.

These are some of the about 14 incidents of such reversal from the presidency, where due diligence should just be the order of the day because any mistake can be costly to the nation.

While the presidency often framed these apparent volte-faces as a sign of a listening government responsive to public opinion and concern, they no doubt cost the government, particularly in reputational terms. This is because the development, which has since become a trend, portrays the presidency as one that decides in haste and corrects in confusion, deepening doubts about the administration’s steadiness and coordination.

The reversal also casts shadow on how decisions are arrived at the highest level of the nation’s authority and may affect the way other nations do business with us.

More importantly, we at the Daily Trust are worried at the rate these “mistakes” are repeated at the highest level of the government and casually portrayed as ordinary mistakes. Again, there has not been any instance where someone is held responsible for this tardiness, which portrays the presidency in bad light.

The President must call his immediate staff and anyone responsible for handling such sensitive assignment to order. Nigerians expect that those handling such sensitive assignment display the highest level of due diligence and professionalism. We cannot afford to be running government at this level with levity and no consequences for such costly mistakes.

The recent mix-ups in the ambassadorial postings should be the last. Actions and decisions must be thoroughly scrutinised and weighed before they are made public, lest we end with more instances where they are reversed as a result of protests from interested parties.

The Presidency should be an office where only the best is engaged to serve. It is high time that we stop officials from embarrassing the President and the nation.

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