FORMER Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, has dismissed reports that Germany rejected his nomination as Nigeria’s ambassador, insisting that he personally declined the posting and requested redeployment to South Africa.
In a statement on Thursday, May 7, Fani-Kayode said President Bola Tinubu approved his posting as Nigeria’s ambassador-designate to South Africa after he formally appealed to former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, to reconsider his deployment to Germany.
According to him, he informed Tuggar that he was ‘not comfortable’ with the Germany posting for ‘a number of personal reasons.’
He explained that having spent most of his life in Europe, he preferred South Africa, a country he said he had never visited but had always admired and wanted to explore.
“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 stated.
Fani-Kayode said he applied for redeployment to South Africa two days after the initial diplomatic postings were announced, adding that Tuggar, who resigned from Tinubu’s cabinet afterwards to contest governorship election in Bauchi State, later conveyed the request to the president, who eventually approved it.
He also thanked Sam Enang, who was originally posted to South Africa, for agreeing to swap postings and move to Germany instead.
The former minister dismissed reports alleging that Germany formally rejected him, describing the claims as ‘false,’ ‘malicious,’ and “a complete fabrication.”
He accused an unnamed online publication of publishing sensational and defamatory reports aimed at embarrassing him, the Federal Government, and Tinubu.
The development comes amid growing scrutiny over the acceptance of Nigeria’s newly appointed ambassadors by several countries.
In March, the Presidency confirmed that only 10 out of more than 60 ambassadors and envoys nominated by Tinubu had received approval from their host countries weeks after their nomination.
The spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Ebienfa, had said countries including the United Kingdom, France, the United States, Ireland, Qatar, Benin Republic, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Senegal and Sierra Leone had accepted Nigeria’s envoys, while responses from other countries were still being awaited.
Before ambassadors can formally assume office, receiving countries are required to grant diplomatic approval known as agrément.
Reports had also indicated that some countries, including India, were hesitant to approve a number of the nominees, allegedly because President Tinubu has less than two years left in his current tenure.
The ICIR reports that Fani-Kayode is expected to help address xenophobic attacks on Nigerians and citizens of other countries residing in South Africa as part of his roles.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M