Nigeria's fierce political rivals share joke at pope's inaugural mass
Fierce Nigerian political rivals Peter Obi and President Bola Tinubu were seen laughing and joking at Pope Leo XIV's inaugural mass in Rome.
Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress defeated Obi of the Labour Party in the heated and tightly contested 2023 presidential election - a victory Obi challenged at the Supreme Court without success.
The pair's supporters have expressed bitter rivalry towards each other over the years, both on social media and on the streets, with some physical clashes occurring prior to the elections.
Tinubu and Obi are expected to go head-to-head again in less than two years' time as Nigeria prepares for another election in 2027.
Photos of the meeting were shared by presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga on social media, who recounted what transpired when Obi and a former governor greeted the Nigerian president after seeing him at the event.
"Mr President, welcome to our church, and thank you for honouring the Pope with your presence," said former Ekiti state governor Kayode Fayemi.
Both Obi and Fayemi are Catholics, while Tinubu is Muslim.
However, President Tinubu responded: "I should be the one welcoming you and Peter. I'm the head of the Nigerian delegation."
The president's response elicited laughter from Obi, who agreed.
"Yes, indeed. We are members of your delegation," Obi said.
Despite the memorable encounter, Obi did not mention it in his long post on X about his visit to the Vatican.
Alkassim Hussain, a member of Nigeria's House of Representatives, told the BBC that the light-hearted meeting was good for the country's politics and should help reduce tension.
"They portrayed a good image of the country and that's how politics should be played - without bitterness.
"I hope supporters of both Tinubu and Obi can see that after elections and court cases, then it is all about the country and how everyone can join hands together to grow it," he noted.
Tinubu won the 2023 elections after the opposition was split between the Labour Party and the Peoples Democratic Party.
There is speculation that the two parties could form a coalition in 2027 to challenge Tinubu, who is expected to seek a second term.
Elections are often marred by violence in Nigeria, with hundreds of people losing their lives since the country's return to democracy in 1999.
Blank questions, power cuts and a suicide: Nigeria's exams fiasco
'I screamed': Nigerian Doctor Who fan thrilled show is coming to Lagos
Nigerians fear savings lost as investment app freezes them out
Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.
Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica
Africa Daily
Focus on Africa
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Bloomberg
3 hours ago
- Bloomberg
Italy's Economy Still Seen Growing 0.6% Amid Consumer Demand
Italy's statistics institute issued a growth forecast for 2025 matching that of the government two months ago, suggesting it sees the economy holding up against a backdrop of global trade tensions. Gross domestic product will rise 0.6% this year and then 0.8% in 2026, according to a report by ISTAT in Rome published on Friday. That chimes with the outlook from Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government, which halved its prediction for growth in projections released in early April.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Italians vote on easing citizenship requirements, reversing labour reform
By Angelo Amante ROME (Reuters) - Italians will start voting on Sunday in a two-day referendum on whether to ease citizenship laws and reverse a decade-old liberalisation of the labour market, but the vote may fail to generate sufficient turnout to be deemed valid. Opposition leftist and centrist parties, civil society groups and a leading trade union have latched onto the issues of labour rights and Italy's demographic woes as a way of challenging Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's right-wing coalition government. They gathered over 4.5 million signatures, according to the CGIL labour union, far more than needed to trigger the referendum, which will comprise five questions - four on the labour market and one on citizenship. However, opinion polls suggest they will struggle to persuade the required 50% plus one of the electorate to turn out to make the outcome of the vote binding. Meloni and senior government ministers have indicated they will not vote. "Meloni is afraid of participation and has understood that many Italians, even those who voted for her, will go to vote," said Elly Schlein, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party (PD), who is spearheading the campaign along with Maurizio Landini, the CGIL labour union chief. A Demopolis institute poll last month estimated turnout would be in the range of 31-39% among Italy's roughly 50 million electors - well short of the required threshold. "Securing a quorum will be hard. The opposition's minimum aim is to show strength and bring to vote more people than the 12.3 million who backed the centre-right at the 2022 general election," said Lorenzo Pregliasco, from YouTrend pollsters. CITIZENSHIP The citizenship issue has garnered most public attention in a nation where concerns over the scale of immigration helped propel Meloni's anti-migration coalition to power in late 2022. The question on the ballot paper asks Italians if they back reducing the period of residence required to apply for Italian citizenship by naturalisation to five years from 10. This could affect about 2.5 million foreign nationals, organisers say. With Italy's birthrate in sharp decline, economists say the country needs to attract more foreigners to boost its anaemic economy, and migrant workers feel a lot is at stake. "If you just look at the time frame, five years are a huge gain for us migrants, if compared to 10," said Mohammed Kamara, a 27-year-old from Sierra Leone who works in a building construction company in Rome. Francesco Galietti, from political risk firm Policy Sonar, said keeping such rules tight was "an identity issue" for Meloni, but she was also being pushed by business to open up the borders of an ageing country to foreign workers. "On the one hand there is the cultural identity rhetoric, but on the other there are potential problems paying pensions and an economy that relies on manufacturing, which needs workers," he said. The questions regarding the labour market aim to make it harder to fire some workers and increase compensation for workers laid off by small businesses, among other things, reversing a law passed by a PD government a decade ago. The leaders of two of the governing coalition parties, Antonio Tajani of Forza Italia and Matteo Salvini of the League, have said they will not vote on Sunday, while Meloni, who heads Brothers of Italy, will show up at the polling station but will not vote. "She will thereby honour her institutional duty but avoid contributing to the quorum," said pollster Pregliasco.
CNBC
7 hours ago
- CNBC
'London is back:' Mayor — and Trump critic — Sadiq Khan looks to lure businesses from the U.S.
"London is back," the capital's Mayor Sadiq Khan told CNBC on Wednesday, laying out his ambition to attract investors, visitors and students who are looking for an alternative to the U.S amid an uncertain Trump 2.0 era. "At a time of growing international instability, at a time when there are, let's be frank, choppy political waters in the U.S., we're that rare thing — somewhere that's stable, that's open, that's diverse. A brilliant environment for innovation, creativity and business," the mayor of London told CNBC's Tania Bryer. U.S. President Donald Trump's often mercurial position on trade, immigration and visa policies have rattled markets as well as businesses, tourists and students looking to make the U.S. their base. Khan said the U.K. was seeing an increase in interest from American businesses and individuals looking to avoid more uncertain economic times and societal changes at home. "They're our closest ally ... so I don't see America as competition, I see them as our great partner and long may that continue, but I recognize the reality of the last few months which is that some American businesses, individuals and people in different sectors who, for a variety of reasons, are looking for somewhere new." "My message is very simple: actually in London we have everything you could possibly want, not only in terms of our stability, openness and diversity, but our values too." There's no love lost between Khan and Trump, with the former in 2019 calling the president a "poster boy" for the far right. Trump fired back at the time, calling the mayor "a stone cold loser who should focus on crime in London, not me." With Trump winning a second term in office last November, critics like Khan have had to take a more diplomatic stance as the U.K. government under the Labour Party, which Khan belongs to, has looked to build bridges with the Trump administration. Despite their political differences, Prime Minister Keir Starmer appears to have curried favor with Anglophile Trump, with the leaders seemingly getting on well and Starmer winning a much sought-after trade deal with the U.S. last month, averting many of the punitive trade tariffs facing other U.S. allies and adversaries alike. "What's important is for all of us to put aside out personal views when it's in the national interest to do so," Khan said, adding that "we can't escape the fact though that there are some things that the president has said or done that are controversial, and it's really important that we speak up on things we agree with, but also on things we disagree with."
