Germany has turned down the nomination of former Nigerian minister Femi Fani-Kayode as ambassador, citing concerns over his history of inflammatory ethnic and religious remarks, according to an exclusive report by Peoples Gazette.
President Bola Tinubu had, on March 6, approved Mr Fani-Kayode’s deployment as ambassador-designate to a Central European nation.
However, it was gathered that the German authorities formally rejected the nomination on March 13, 2026.
Officials in Germany reportedly based their decision on what they described as Mr Fani-Kayode’s “erratic behaviour, controversial past statements, particularly his divisive ethnocentric, tribalistic, and religious fundamentalist comments in Nigeria”, which they further characterised as “destabilising”.
The decision followed closely after an incident in which Mr Fani-Kayode allegedly clashed with the United Kingdom’s High Commissioner to Nigeria, Richard Montgomery, during a Ramadan dinner hosted in Abuja by Senator Bashir Lado, the president’s special adviser on Senate matters.
Efforts to obtain a response from the former minister on Sunday were unsuccessful, as he could not be reached for comment.
A senior official within the administration disclosed that there are considerations to redeploy Mr Fani-Kayode to South Africa in a different diplomatic capacity.
Mr Fani-Kayode, a notable political appointee under Mr Tinubu’s ambassadorial list, has long been associated with controversial public statements and divisive commentary both on social media and in traditional media outlets.
In August 2020, he drew widespread criticism after verbally attacking a journalist who questioned the source of funding for his nationwide tour at the time.
At a press briefing in Calabar, Cross River State, Mr Eyo had asked, “Who is bankrolling you?” In response, an angered Mr Fani-Kayode described the journalist as “stupid” and labelled the question “insulting”. He later issued an apology following public outrage.
The former minister has also faced public attention over a child custody dispute involving his estranged wife, Precious Chikwendu.
Additionally, he had been prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on allegations including fraud, money laundering, and forgery spanning nearly two decades.
Between 2024 and 2025, however, multiple courts dismissed the charges—among them claims of fraudulent receipt of N4.9 billion, laundering of N200 million and later N8 billion, and forgery of medical documents—after ruling that prosecutors failed to establish a direct link between Mr Fani-Kayode and the alleged crimes.
