Nigeria’s ambassador-designate, Reno Omokri, has described President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as a strong ally of the Catholic community, saying the President’s attendance at the inauguration Mass of Pope Leo XIV marked a historic moment for Nigeria’s relationship with the global Catholic Church.
Omokri said Tinubu was the first Nigerian leader to be physically present at the Vatican for the inauguration of a Pope, describing the gesture as a demonstration of support and respect for Catholics in Nigeria and around the world.
He stated that since Nigeria gained independence from Britain on October 1, 1960, five different Popes had been inaugurated at the Vatican, including Pope Paul VI in 1963, Pope John Paul I and Pope John Paul II in 1978, Pope Benedict XVI in 2005, Pope Francis in 2013, and Pope Leo XIV in 2025.
According to him, no Nigerian president had previously attended a Papal inauguration until Tinubu’s visit to the Vatican on Sunday, May 18, 2025, when the President participated in the inauguration Mass of Pope Leo XIV at St Peter’s Square.
“And the only time a Nigerian leader was physically present in the Vatican to honour a Pontiff at his inauguration, and the global Catholic family at their celebration, was on Sunday, May 18, 2025, when His Excellency, Bola Tinubu, GCFR, President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, attended the inauguration Mass of Pope Leo XIV at St Peter’s Square in the Vatican,” Omokri said.
He added that the President’s presence at the ceremony sent a message of inclusion and solidarity to Nigeria’s Catholic population.
“That act by the President was to demonstrate to the Roman Catholic Community in Nigeria that they have no better friend than President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” he said.
Omokri also highlighted his family’s historical connection with Catholicism in Nigeria, saying his lineage represents one of the country’s earliest Catholic communities.
“My family is the oldest Catholic family in Nigeria, having accepted Roman Catholicism in 1570, and made it the State Religion of Iwere (now known as Warri),” he said.
He explained that his ancestor, Olu Oyenakpagha, whose Catholic baptismal name was Antonio Domingos, was the first person in West Africa to write to the Vatican requesting Catholic priests for Iwere.
“Globally, you cannot be more Catholic than the Pope, and locally, you cannot be more Catholic than the people of Iwere,” Omokri stated.
Referencing the long history of Catholicism in Iwere, including the presence of Saint Anthony’s Church, which he described as Nigeria’s oldest Catholic church building built in 1692, Omokri said Tinubu had extended a hand of fellowship to the Christian community.
“From that historical standpoint of 456 years of Roman Catholicism in Iwere, which has the oldest Catholic Church building in Nigeria, Saint Anthony’s, built in 1692, I make bold to say that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has extended the right hand of fellowship to the Body of Christ in general and the Roman Catholic Community in particular,” he said.
Omokri added that he believed Tinubu’s leadership would encourage religious harmony, peaceful coexistence and shared prosperity among Nigerians.
“In this President, the Catholic Church has a friend who will promote peaceful religious coexistence and mutual prosperity for all Nigerians,” he stated.
