Just In: Tinubu Addresses Catholic Bishops' Conference in Rome

• President Bola Tinubu has asked Nigerians to utilise the country's diversity to secure its stability and rapid development
• The president also urged leaders at all levels in the country to use their position for the country for the betterment of the nation
• President Tinubu made the call while addressing members of the Catholic Bishops' Conference at the Vatican on Sunday, May 18

President Bola Tinubu has called for the use of Nigeria's diversity to enhance the country's stability and rapid development. The president made the call in Rome while addressing members of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria on Sunday, May 18.

According to a statement from the presidency, the president also called on leaders at all levels to work for the betterment of the country, adding that the country's prosperity would be certain if the diversity is well utilised.

He said:

"If we use our diversity not for adversity but for prosperity, the country's hope is stability and progress."

Tinubu described Pope Leo XIV's emergence as historic

The president also maintained that it was historic for him to be president of Nigeria at a time when a new Pope was installed in Rome.

Bayo Onanuga, the special adviser to the president on information and strategy, in the statement, explained that the Catholic bishops were members of Tinubu's entourage who attended Pope Leo XIV's inauguration on Sunday, May 18.

Speaking on behalf of the Catholic leaders in Nigeria, the Archbishop of Owerri and President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria, Archbishop Lucius Ugorji, expressed appreciation to the president for facilitating their visits to the Vatican during the burial of the late Pope Francis and also witness the swearing in of Pope Leo XIV.

Catholic Bishops invite Tinubu to conference

Archbishop Ugorji added that the development marked the beginning of a new dawn of a strong relationship between the president and the Catholic Bishops' Conference. His statement reads:

"You are always there for us. Now that you have come to the Vatican, whenever we have our conference in Nigeria, we will also invite you, and we look forward to interfacing with you just as you were able to do with the Holy Father."

Other Catholic leaders who attended the meeting with President Tinubu are Mathew Hassan Kukah, the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Archbishops Ignatius Kaigama of Abuja, and Alfred Martins of Lagos.

President Tinubu had travelled to Rome on Saturday, after he was invited and his physical presence was requested by Pope Leo XIV, who was inaugurated as the new leader of the Catholic Church on Sunday, May 18.

The full statement is here:

List of popes in the last 110 years

Legit.ng earlier reported that Pope Francis had become the 10th leader of the world of the Catholic Church in the last 110 years in history.

The late Francis died on Monday, April 21, which was the same day as Easter Monday, just after delivering Easter Sunday's sermon.

The list of popes who have ruled the Catholic Church world in the last 110 years, from Pope Pius X to Francis, has been compiled.

Source: Legit.ng