Former Ekiti State governor, Kayode Fayemi, has disclosed how he persuaded Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, to approach President Bola Tinubu for a handshake during the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican.
Fayemi made the revelation during an interview on Edmund Obilo’s YouTube programme uploaded on Thursday, explaining that Obi was initially reluctant because he feared the encounter could be misinterpreted politically.
The meeting first gained public attention on May 18, 2025, after presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, shared photographs of Tinubu, Fayemi and Obi exchanging pleasantries during the papal inauguration ceremony in Vatican City.
According to Onanuga, Fayemi had spotted the President seated among other world leaders and encouraged Obi to accompany him to greet Tinubu.
Speaking in the interview, Fayemi confirmed the account but added that Obi initially expressed reservations over possible media interpretations of the moment.
He explained that both he and Obi attended the ceremony as Catholics and had earlier shared breakfast with Cardinal Lazarus before proceeding to the inauguration venue, where they were seated a few rows behind the Nigerian President.
Fayemi said the situation changed when the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Ojukwu, walked over from the presidential delegation to exchange greetings with them.
According to him, the gesture prompted him to suggest that they should also extend courtesy to the President despite political differences.
He recalled telling Obi that Tinubu deserved recognition for representing Nigeria at the Vatican ceremony, stressing that national interest and respect should rise above politics.
Fayemi said Obi remained hesitant at first, worried the meeting could be politicised by sections of the media and supporters.
However, he noted that Obi eventually agreed after further persuasion, and both of them approached the President together.
Narrating the encounter, Fayemi said he welcomed Tinubu to the Vatican and thanked him for attending the event, after which the President responded humorously that, as leader of the Nigerian delegation, he should have been the one receiving them.
He added that Obi also acknowledged Tinubu as the nation’s leader and appreciated him for attending the inauguration despite not being part of the same delegation.
According to Fayemi, the conversation ended cordially, after which the President continued with other engagements linked to the papal inauguration.
When asked whether the Vatican encounter marked the first handshake between Tinubu and Obi since the fiercely contested 2023 presidential election, Fayemi simply noted that the two men greeted each other there.
Fayemi and Obi are both devout Catholics and holders of Papal Knighthood honours bestowed by the Vatican.
The two politicians had also attended the inauguration of Pope Francis in 2013 while serving as governors.
Tinubu, who is Muslim, had explained after the ceremony that his attendance reflected Nigeria’s unity in diversity.
He also urged Nigerians to channel the country’s diversity toward national progress and stability.
The photographs shared from the Vatican meeting later generated mixed reactions online, with supporters of both political figures debating the significance of the encounter in relation to the 2023 presidential election.