Mr. Femi Fani-Kayode has been posted to South Africa as Nigeria’s Ambassador-Designate instead of Germany a few days after his initial posting was announced.
21st CENTURY CHRONICLE reports that Fani-Kayode is swapping the position Senator Sam Enang, who was originally posted to South Africa and who was pleased to go to Germany instead
The Ambassador-Designate revealed this on his official Facebook page on Thursday where he
said he applied for a redeployment to South Africa two days after the initial announcement was made.
Fani-Kayode said “after the then Foreign Minister (H.E. Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar) heard my reasons he considered them favourably after which he conveyed the request to Mr. President who graciously approved it.”
He said he told the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, that he was not comfortable with Germany for a number of personal reasons and having stayed in Europe for most his, adding that “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.
“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 expressed gratitude to Ambassador Tuggar and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for this favourable consideration, just as he also thanked Senator Enang, with whom he is swapping country of designate.
He denied that Germany had rejected him, adding that it was his choice to change his country of posting.
He described the report of his purported rejection as fake carried by “an irresponsible online magazine that thrives on sensationslism, lies and blackmail.”
“Their story was not only irresponsible and insulting but was also a total and complete fabrication based on hearsay, beer parlour talk and cheap gossip and designed to embarrass myself, the Federal Government and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“Our findings after a preliminary investigation was that the story was not only sponsored but was also written with malicious intent and designed to hurt and destroy my career and bring me into both national and international opprobium and disrepute.
“We have reported the online magazine and the individuals behind it with a petition to the relevant security agencies for necessary action. I have also briefed my lawyers to take up the matter and we shall be suing the them in a civil action for defamation.”
