A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, has said he appealed to the Nigeria Democratic Party (NDC) presidential aspirant, Peter Obi, to greet President Bola Ahmed Tinubu during the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican last May.
Fayemi made this shocking revelation while speaking on Edmund Obilo’s YouTube programme.
According to the former Governor, Peter Obi initially expressed concerns that the meeting could be politically misrepresented in the media.
New Telegraph recalls that the encounter first gained public attention on May 18, 2025, after presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga shared photographs of Tinubu, Fayemi and Obi exchanging pleasantries during the ceremony in Vatican City.
According to Onanuga, Fayemi noticed Tinubu seated among world leaders and encouraged Obi to join him in greeting the Nigerian president.
Reacting to the meeting, Fayemi said that Obi was initially reluctant because of concerns over possible political interpretation.
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“Peter and I are Catholics. We were at the Vatican for the inauguration of the new pope. We happened to have had breakfast the morning of the inauguration with Cardinal Lazarus, and we came from his apartment to the venue of the inauguration, and we sat four rows behind the president. We were there before the president came with his team,” Fayemi said.
He explained that the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Ojukwu, who was part of Tinubu’s delegation, first approached them to exchange greetings.
“The current minister of foreign affairs, Bianca Ojukwu, was on the president’s delegation, and she came to say hello to us. And I felt, well, our president is there regardless of our politics. Peter, please let us go,” he said.
“He had his concerns that this might be misused in the media. I said, Peter, it really didn’t matter. You are Catholic. You are a Nigerian. You are here.
“Our president has honoured us. He is even a Muslim. He is not a Catholic like you and me. So we could extend courtesies to him for doing this on behalf of all Nigerians to celebrate the pope,” Fayemi stated.
According to him, Obi later agreed and accompanied him to greet the president.
“Readily, Peter agreed. So we walked up to the president, and I said, ‘Mr President, welcome to the Vatican. Thank you for honouring us with your presence,’” Fayemi narrated.
He said Tinubu responded humorously.
“The president is quick-witted; you have got to give him some credit for that as well. He immediately retorted, ‘Kayode, what are you saying? I should be the one welcoming you because I am the leader of the Nigerian delegation,’” Fayemi recounted.
Obi also acknowledged Tinubu’s office during the exchange.
“Peter kindly said to him, ‘Yes, sir, you are our leader. So thank you for coming to Rome to honour us even though we are not part of your delegation, but you are our leader.’ So we joked about it, and that was it,” Fayemi added.
The former governor said the interaction ended amicably before Tinubu proceeded with other official engagements linked to the papal inauguration.
When asked whether it was the first handshake between Obi and Tinubu since the 2023 presidential election, Fayemi replied: “I wouldn’t know, but they shook hands there.”
Fayemi and Obi, both practising Catholics and Papal Knights, had previously attended the inauguration of Pope Francis in 2013 while serving as governors.
Tinubu, who attended the event despite being a Muslim, later said his presence reflected Nigeria’s unity in diversity.
“If we use our diversity not for adversity but for prosperity, the country’s hope is stability and progress,” the president told members of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria who accompanied his delegation.
