By Ibrahim Kegbegbe
Former Aviation Minister Femi Fani-Kayode has announced that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu approved his appointment as Nigeria’s Ambassador-Designate to South Africa after a change in his initial diplomatic posting.
Fani-Kayode disclosed in a post on X on Thursday that he was originally assigned to Germany but later requested redeployment due to personal reasons and his interest in serving in South Africa.
According to him, he formally communicated his concerns to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, stating that he preferred South Africa because of its closer ties with Nigeria and shared pan-African foreign policy values.
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He explained that the request was approved by the foreign affairs minister and later endorsed by President Tinubu, leading to a swap arrangement with Senator Sam Enang, who was initially posted to South Africa but later opted for Germany.
The former minister also dismissed reports claiming that Germany rejected his appointment, describing the allegations as false, malicious, and aimed at tarnishing his image as well as embarrassing the Federal Government.
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Fani-Kayode said he had directed his lawyers to take legal action against the publication responsible for the report and had also alerted relevant security agencies over the matter.
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He thanked President Tinubu and the foreign affairs minister for approving the redeployment, expressing readiness to represent Nigeria in South Africa.
