Former Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi has revealed details of the now-viral interaction between President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Labour Party leader Peter Obi during the inauguration Mass of Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican in May 2025.
Speaking during an interview on journalist Edmund Obilo’s YouTube programme, Fayemi said he convinced Obi to approach and greet the president despite the political tensions that followed Nigeria’s 2023 presidential election.
The encounter between Tinubu and Obi had generated widespread reactions on social media after photographs and videos showed the two political rivals exchanging handshakes and smiles during the Vatican ceremony.
According to Fayemi, both he and Obi attended the papal inauguration as practicing Catholics and Papal Knights. He explained that they had earlier shared breakfast before proceeding to St. Peter’s Square, where they were seated a few rows behind the Nigerian delegation led by President Tinubu.
Fayemi said the moment to approach the president came after Minister of Foreign Affairs Bianca Ojukwu walked over to greet them.
“I felt our president was there regardless of politics, so I told Peter, ‘Let us go and say hello,’” Fayemi recalled.
However, he said Obi initially hesitated, expressing concerns that the interaction could be misinterpreted politically or used against him by critics and supporters online.
Fayemi said he appealed to Obi on the grounds of national unity and shared religious identity, stressing that the president’s attendance at the Vatican event deserved acknowledgment.
According to him, Obi eventually agreed, and the pair walked to greet Tinubu.
Fayemi also recounted a lighthearted exchange that followed the greeting. He said he jokingly welcomed the president to “their church,” referencing the Catholic gathering, while Tinubu responded humorously that, as leader of the Nigerian delegation, he should instead be the one welcoming them.
The former Ekiti governor said the exchange helped ease tensions and created what he described as a cordial and respectful moment between the political figures.
The Vatican meeting drew significant public attention at the time because it marked one of the few publicly visible interactions between Tinubu and Obi since the fiercely contested 2023 presidential election and subsequent legal battles.
Fayemi said the gesture reflected basic courtesy and statesmanship rather than politics, adding that public reactions to the handshake demonstrated the level of polarization in Nigeria’s political environment.
