By Abiola Olawale
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has arrived in Rome, Italy on Saturday.
The Nigerian President would be joining a host of global leaders to attend the solemn Mass marking the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV’s pontificate, scheduled for Sunday, May 18, at 10 a.m. Rome time in St. Peter’s Square.
Upon his arrival, Tinubu was received at the Mario De Bernardo Military Airport by Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, and officials from Vatican City and the Nigerian Embassy in Rome.
Tinubu’s visit follows an invitation from Pope Leo XIV, according to a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
The statement reads in part: “President Tinubu is in Rome to honour the new Pope’s invitation, conveyed by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State.
“The Papal invitation underscored the need for President Tinubu’s physical presence “at this moment of particular importance for the Catholic Church and the world afflicted by many tensions and conflicts.”
“Your great nation is particularly dear to me as I worked in the Apostolic Nunciature in Lagos during the 1980s,” Pope Leo XIV further said in the invitation.
“President Tinubu’s entourage includes the Archbishop of Owerri and President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria, Archbishop Lucius Ugorji, Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Abuja, and Alfred Martins of Lagos.
“Mathew Hassan Kukah, the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, is also in the president’s entourage.”
The New Diplomat reports that the inauguration Mass is scheduled to take place in St. Peter’s Square, marks the official start of Pope Leo XIV’s role as the 267th Bishop of Rome and leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics.
