By Our Reporter
Former Aviation Minister Femi Fani-Kayode has announced that President Bola Tinubu approved his redeployment as Nigeria’s Ambassador-Designate to South Africa after he requested a change from his initial posting to Germany.
Fani-Kayode disclosed this in a statement posted on his X account on Thursday, explaining that he formally appealed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to reconsider the Germany posting due to personal reasons and his preference for South Africa.
According to him, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, approved the request and forwarded it to President Tinubu, who gave the final approval for the redeployment.
The former minister said he preferred South Africa because of its strategic role in Africa, its strong ties with Nigeria, and what he described as similarities in their views on foreign affairs and pan-Africanism.
Fani-Kayode also revealed that the redeployment involved a swap arrangement with Senator Sam Enang, who was originally assigned to South Africa but later opted for Germany.
He dismissed reports claiming that Germany rejected his nomination, describing the reports as false, malicious, and aimed at embarrassing both him and the Federal Government.
According to him, no official rejection was communicated by the German authorities, adding that he had directed his lawyers to take legal action against the publication behind the report and had also informed security agencies.
Fani-Kayode thanked President Tinubu and the Foreign Affairs Minister for approving the redeployment, expressing readiness to serve Nigeria in South Africa.