Fani-Kayode presents Letter of Credence to Ramaphosa, formally assumes duty as ambassador

Femi Fani-Kayode presented his Letter of Credence to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Friday, November 13, 2026, at the Sefako Makgatho Presidential Guest House in Pretoria. Fani-Kayode, who is also accredited to the Kingdom of Lesotho and the Kingdom of Eswatini, described the event as a historic moment that marked the first posting of a substantive Nigerian ambassador to South Africa in four years.

According to This Day, Fani-Kayode conveyed greetings from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and pledged to rebuild diplomatic relations by recalling Nigeria's support for South Africa during the apartheid era.

Premium Times reported that Fani-Kayode presented his credentials alongside ambassadors from 14 other countries, with each individual being formally introduced and given the floor to speak. However, Punch Nigeria reported that Fani-Kayode protested the exclusion of his introduction and speech from a livestream of the ceremony hosted by the South African Presidency.

He alleged that the South African Presidency deliberately cut the Nigerian delegation from the broadcast and only returned to the livestream after his speech had concluded, asserting that Nigeria was the only one of the 15 countries whose presentation was not aired.

Brief written by urgent.news from Premium Times, Punch Nigeria, Punch, This Day, Daily Trust — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.