Former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, has announced that President Bola Tinubu approved his redeployment as Nigeria’s Ambassador-Designate to South Africa after an earlier posting to Germany.
Fani-Kayode disclosed this in a statement shared on his X handle on Thursday, explaining that he requested a change in posting for personal and ideological reasons.
According to him, he formally contacted the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, to express reservations about serving in Germany and requested deployment to South Africa instead.
He said the request was later approved by President Tinubu after consideration by the foreign affairs minister.
“It gives me pleasure to announce the fact that Mr. President has graciously approved my posting as Nigeria’s Ambassador-Designate to South Africa,” Fani-Kayode said.
He explained that the decision came shortly after the initial diplomatic postings were announced.
“This came a few days after the initial posting to Germany was announced and after I made a formal representation to the Minister of Foreign Affairs that I was not comfortable with Germany for a number of personal reasons,” he stated.
The former minister noted that having spent much of his life in Europe, he preferred a posting outside the continent and was particularly interested in South Africa.
“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 added.
Fani-Kayode further said he wanted to serve in a country that aligns more closely with his political and ideological views on African affairs.
“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 said.
He also revealed that the redeployment involved a swap arrangement with Senator Sam Enang, who was initially posted to South Africa but later opted for Germany.
The former minister dismissed reports claiming that Germany rejected his appointment, describing the reports as false and malicious.
According to him, the allegations were fabricated to tarnish his image and embarrass the Federal Government.
Fani-Kayode said he had instructed his lawyers to begin legal action against the media platform responsible for the report and had also reported the matter to relevant security agencies.
He urged media organisations to verify sensitive information before publication, insisting that no official rejection was issued by the German government.
The former minister thanked President Tinubu and the Minister of Foreign Affairs for approving the redeployment, expressing optimism about representing Nigeria in South Africa.
