Former Aviation Minister Femi Fani-Kayode has stated that President Bola Tinubu has approved his nomination as Nigeria’s Ambassador-Designate to South Africa.
Fani-Kayode revealed the information in a post on his X account on Thursday, adding that his initial appointment to Germany was evaluated following his request for redeployment.
According to him, he formally wrote to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to voice his concerns about serving in Germany and instead sought to be assigned to South Africa.
He stated that his proposal was evaluated and granted by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, who then forwarded it to Tinubu for final approval.
He said, “It gives me pleasure to announce the fact that Mr. President has graciously approved my posting as Nigeria’s Ambassador-Designate to South Africa.
“This came a few days after the initial posting to Germany was announced and after I made a formal representation to the then Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, that I was not comfortable with Germany for a number of personal reasons and given the fact that I had lived in Europe most of my life I would prefer to go to South Africa which is a country that I had never been to and for which I have so much interest.
“I also expressed the fact that I would rather serve in a country that shares some of my convictions, beliefs, and values when it comes to world affairs, that has the biggest economy in Africa, that has closer ties to Nigeria, and that is more proximate to my political thinking when it comes to foreign affairs and a pan-African vision.”
He further said that the modification involves a swap arrangement with Senator Sam Enang, who was originally assigned to South Africa but chose Germany.
The former minister denied allegations that Germany had rejected his appointment, calling the claims untrue and spiteful.
He claimed the reports were false and intended to harm his reputation and disgrace the federal government.
Fani-Kayode further stated that he had asked his lawyers to take legal action against the magazine responsible for the report, as well as report the incident to appropriate security agencies.
He also advised the media to verify material before publishing it, noting that Germany had not issued any formal refusal.
The former minister praised Tinubu and the foreign affairs minister for agreeing to his relocation, adding he looks forward to serving Nigeria in South Africa.
