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Former Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi, has revealed how he persuaded Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, to walk up to President Bola Tinubu and exchange greetings during the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican.
Fayemi said Obi initially hesitated, worried that a public encounter with the President could be twisted in the media and trigger political backlash.
Speaking during an interview on Edmund Obilo’s YouTube programme, Fayemi said the moment unfolded during the papal inauguration in Vatican City, where he and Obi attended as Catholics and Papal Knights.
According to him, both men had shared breakfast with Cardinal Lazarus before heading to the ceremony, where they were seated a few rows behind the Nigerian President and his delegation.
“Peter and I are Catholics. We were at the Vatican for the inauguration of the new pope. We had breakfast with Cardinal Lazarus that morning and later moved to the venue, where we sat four rows behind the president,” Fayemi said.
He explained that the interaction began after Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Ojukwu, who was part of Tinubu’s delegation, crossed over to greet them.
Fayemi said he saw no reason not to return the gesture, regardless of political differences.
“The current minister of foreign affairs, Bianca Ojukwu, came to say hello to us. I felt our president was there, regardless of our politics. So I told Peter, ‘Please, let us go,’” he said.
However, Fayemi disclosed that Obi was initially reluctant.
“He had concerns that the moment might be misused in the media. I told him it didn’t matter. You are Catholic. You are Nigerian. Our president has honoured us with his presence. He is even a Muslim attending a Catholic event on behalf of Nigeria. We could extend simple courtesies,” Fayemi recounted.
He said Obi eventually agreed and both of them walked over to Tinubu.
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According to Fayemi, he welcomed the President to the Vatican, thanking him for attending the historic ceremony.
He added that Tinubu responded with his trademark humour.
“The president is quick-witted, you have got to give him credit for that. He immediately replied, ‘Kayode, what are you saying? I should be the one welcoming you because I am the leader of the Nigerian delegation,’” Fayemi said.
He noted that Obi also acknowledged Tinubu’s position during the brief exchange.
“Peter then said, ‘Yes sir, you are our leader. Thank you for coming to Rome to honour us even though we are not part of your delegation, but you are our leader.’ We joked about it and that was it.”
The Vatican encounter first gained public attention after presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga shared photographs of Tinubu, Obi and Fayemi exchanging pleasantries during the event.
Asked whether the handshake was the first public interaction between Tinubu and Obi since the fiercely contested 2023 presidential election, Fayemi declined to speculate.
“I wouldn’t know, but they shook hands there,” he said.
Fayemi and Obi, both practising Catholics and recipients of Papal honours, had also attended the inauguration of Pope Francis in 2013 when they served as state governors.
Tinubu, who is Muslim, had said after the ceremony that his attendance reflected Nigeria’s spirit of unity and religious coexistence.
“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
