Former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has refuted claims that he held a private meeting with President Bola Tinubu in Rome over a purported ₦225 billion debt crisis involving Fidelity Bank.
In a statement shared on X, Obi dismissed the allegations as baseless and malicious, accusing certain individuals of orchestrating a blackmail campaign against him.
He stated that his recent visit to Rome was strictly for spiritual purposes, including attending the lying in state of the late Pope Francis and the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV.
According to Obi, “It’s obvious that the biggest business for blackmailers now is talking about Peter Obi from every negative perspective.
“Even my solemn spiritual trip to Rome has been twisted into yet another blackmail campaign by merchants paid ostensibly to propagate anything negative against Obi.
“One such individual, whose entire life revolves around blackmail, falsely claimed that I went to Rome to have a private meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu regarding a purported ₦225 billion debt crisis involving Fidelity Bank. These claims are not only baseless, malicious, but entirely false.”
He clarified that he only had a brief, incidental interaction with President Tinubu during the inauguration Mass at Saint Peter’s Basilica.
“Let me categorically state that I have never sought an audience with, nor met, President Tinubu since he assumed office, except about 1 minute meeting at the arena of Saint Peter’s Basilica Rome during the inauguration Mass of Pope Leo XIV, where I was seated behind, and had to respectfully greet him, and other dignitaries present.
“I was previously in Rome on the 9th of May for the lying in state of Pope Francis. Immediately after the mass and exchanging pleasantries, I went straight from Vatican City to London, and then back to Nigeria.”
Obi also addressed allegations linking him to the ownership of Fidelity Bank, clarifying his past involvement with the financial institution.
“The self-proclaimed ‘blackmailer-in-chief’ and others who thrive on spreading pain and falsehoods have also claimed that I own Fidelity Bank. For the record, I do not. Throughout my career, I have served as Chairman/Director of 3 banks/Financial institutions, of which Fidelity is one of them.
“Fidelity has over 500,000 shareholders, none of whom hold a majority stake. What this blackmailer seeks is to harm these hard-working Nigerians and cause them needless distress.”
He concluded with a message to those spreading falsehoods, urging them to reflect on the futility of their actions.
“To those peddling these falsehoods, and engaging in blackmail, I offer a simple prayer: May God grant you the virtues of gratitude and understanding to know that we came here with nothing and will go with nothing, that they cannot profit from their evil ways. A new Nigeria is POssible.”
