The South African Presidency has released the full video of Nigerian Ambassador to South Africa, Lesotho and Eswatini, Femi Fani-Kayode, delivering his address during a diplomatic ceremony, hours after he complained that his speech was excluded from the official livestream.

Fani-Kayode had presented his letters of credence to President Cyril Ramaphosa on Friday at the Presidential Guest House in Pretoria, alongside ambassadors from 14 other countries.

The envoy alleged that while the introductions and speeches of the other 14 ambassadors were broadcast, Nigeria’s presentation was deliberately omitted, with the livestream resuming after he had concluded his address.

He said he confronted Ramaphosa during a post-ceremony photo session, prompting the South African leader to summon relevant officials and direct them to address the matter.

The full recording was subsequently uploaded to the South African Presidency’s YouTube channel at approximately 4:23 p.m. on Friday, about two hours after Fani-Kayode publicly raised the complaint.

In his address, the Nigerian ambassador pledged to strengthen diplomatic and economic relations between both countries, describing his assignment as an opportunity to rebuild bridges and resolve areas of mutual concern.

He recalled Nigeria’s support for South Africa during the anti-apartheid struggle, highlighting the longstanding friendship and cooperation between the two countries.

Fani-Kayode also described Nigeria as South Africa’s largest trading partner on the African continent, stressing that closer cooperation between both nations was essential to Africa’s development.

He commended South Africa’s position on international issues, particularly the conflict in Gaza, its participation in the BRICS bloc and its advocacy for the Global South.

The ambassador also praised Ramaphosa’s efforts towards securing Nigeria’s inclusion in the Group of 20 (G20) and conveyed President Bola Tinubu’s goodwill to the South African leader.

Meanwhile, the South African Presidency’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, disputed Fani-Kayode’s account of the President’s intervention, insisting that Ramaphosa neither interfered with the public broadcaster’s editorial decisions nor intervened in its operations.

Magwenya said the President merely referred the Nigerian envoy to Sophie Mokoena, whom he identified as the appropriate person to address the complaint.

The ceremony marked the first posting of a substantive Nigerian ambassador to South Africa in four years, according to Fani-Kayode.

The envoy had also disclosed that he declined an interview request from the South African Broadcasting Corporation following the incident, describing the treatment of the Nigerian delegation as unacceptable.