The 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Peter Obi, has denied claims that he met with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in connection with a “₦225 billion debt crisis” involving Fidelity Bank.
Thelensng reports that Obi attended the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV in Rome on Sunday, where he exchanged pleasantries with President Tinubu, who was also present at the ceremony.
However, in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday, Obi clarified that he was in Rome solely for the inauguration, describing reports of a meeting with President Tinubu as “baseless, malicious and false”.
He wrote: “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.
“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.”
The former Anambra State Governor disclosed that he had earlier visited Rome on May 9 for the lying-in-state of Pope Francis.
Obi noted that immediately after the Mass and the exchange of pleasantries, he travelled directly from Vatican City to London, and then returned to Nigeria.
The politician continued: “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.”
“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,” he prayed.
