Tinubu Deletes Embarrassing Post Falsely Claiming Meeting with Vatican Secretary of State Parolin

President Bola Tinubu on Monday deleted a social media post in which he falsely claimed to have been hosted by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, following widespread public backlash and online ridicule.

The now-deleted post, shared on Sunday, featured two photos of Tinubu with Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life. However, the president mistakenly identified Farrell as Cardinal Parolin and stated that he had been “warmly received and graciously hosted to dinner” by the Vatican Secretary of State.

“Upon my arrival in Rome ahead of the solemn Mass marking the beginning of the Pontificate of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, I was warmly received and graciously hosted to dinner by His Eminence Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State to the Vatican,” Tinubu wrote in the post.

The factual error quickly drew criticism from Nigerians on social media, with many calling out the president for sharing misinformation and embarrassing the country on an international stage. Despite deleting the post, neither Tinubu nor his media team offered a public correction or apology.

An X user, @TheSerahIbrahim, wrote, “Stop the fake news Bola Tinubu. This is NOT His Eminence Cardinal Pietro Parolin… You’re there to represent the country’s Catholics and this is what you do with it—denigrate our religion with lies and fake news.”

Another user, @afrisagacity, commented, “So, Tinubu has deleted this post after he was caught lying. The President of the ‘Biggest Black Nation’ shared fake news! Of course, nothing will happen. No one will be sacked, queried, or held accountable for such a national embarrassment.”