Former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, has confirmed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu approved his redeployment as Nigeria’s Ambassador-Designate to South Africa following a request to change his earlier posting to Germany.
Fani-Kayode disclosed the development in a post shared on his X account on Thursday, explaining that he personally appealed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to reconsider his initial deployment to Germany.
According to him, the request was later approved by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, before receiving final endorsement from the president.
“It gives me pleasure to announce the fact that Mr. President has graciously approved my posting as Nigeria’s Ambassador-Designate to South Africa,” he wrote.
The former minister explained that his decision was influenced by personal reasons and his desire to serve within Africa rather than Europe, where he said he had spent a large part of his life.
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“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,” he stated.
Fani-Kayode added that he was drawn to South Africa because of its influence on the continent and what he described as its alignment with his worldview on international affairs and pan-African cooperation.
“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 added.
He further revealed that the redeployment followed a mutual arrangement involving Senator Sam Enang, who was initially assigned to South Africa but later opted for Germany.
Fani-Kayode also denied reports claiming German authorities rejected his nomination, insisting that the reports were false and intended to tarnish his image and embarrass the Federal Government.
He said he has directed his legal team to begin legal proceedings against the publication responsible for the claims and has also reported the matter to security agencies.
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The former minister urged journalists and media organisations to verify sensitive diplomatic information before publication, maintaining that Germany never formally declined his appointment.
He also thanked President Tinubu and the foreign affairs minister for approving the change in posting, expressing optimism about representing Nigeria in South Africa.
