Former Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi has revealed that he persuaded Peter Obi to approach President Bola Tinubu for a handshake during the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican in May 2025.
Fayemi made the disclosure during an interview on Edmund Obilo’s YouTube channel uploaded on Thursday, explaining that Obi initially hesitated because he feared the interaction could be misrepresented in the media.
The encounter first became public on May 18, 2025, after presidential aide Bayo Onanuga shared photographs of the meeting on X.
At the time, Onanuga said Fayemi had spotted Tinubu seated among world leaders during the ceremony and encouraged Obi to greet the president.
“Fayemi sighted President Tinubu, where he sat with other leaders and asked Obi to follow him to pay homage to the Nigerian leader. Obi agreed,” Onanuga had posted.
In the interview, Fayemi confirmed the account but added that Obi initially expressed concerns over how the gesture might be interpreted politically.
According to Fayemi, both he and Obi attended the papal inauguration as Catholics and had earlier shared breakfast with Lazarus You Heung-sik before heading to the ceremony.
“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 inauguration with Cardinal Lazarus and we came from his apartment to the venue of the inauguration and we sat four rows behind the president,” Fayemi said.
He explained that the moment to greet Tinubu emerged after Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Ojukwu, crossed over from the presidential delegation to exchange pleasantries with them.
“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,” Fayemi stated.
According to him, Obi initially resisted the suggestion because of concerns that political opponents could use the moment against him.
“He had his concern 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,” Fayemi recalled.
He added that Obi eventually agreed and both men walked together 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.
Fayemi said Tinubu responded humorously to the greeting.
“The president is quick-witted. He immediately retorted, ‘Kayode, what are you saying? I should be the one welcoming you because I am the leader of the Nigerian delegation,’” he said.
Obi then reportedly acknowledged Tinubu’s office during the brief 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,’” Fayemi added.
The meeting reportedly ended shortly afterwards as Tinubu continued official activities linked to the papal inauguration.
When asked whether it was the first handshake 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 are both devout Catholics and Papal Knights, honours conferred by the Vatican on distinguished members of the Catholic Church.
The two politicians had previously attended the inauguration of Pope Francis in 2013 while serving as governors.
Speaking after the mass, Tinubu said his attendance reflected Nigeria’s commitment to unity despite religious and political differences.
“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 him.
The photographs of the handshake later generated widespread reactions on social media, with supporters of both political leaders debating the significance of the encounter.
