The 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has addressed critics who accused him of meeting President Bola Tinubu in Rome for favour to offset a purported ₦225 billion debt crisis involving Fidelity Bank.
Recall that the President and Obi, alongside a former Ekiti Governor, Kayode Fayemi, were seen in Rome exchanging pleasantries during the inauguration Mass of Pope Leo XIV.
The photos, which were published online by the presidency caused an uproar in some corners of social media, with some critics bashing Obi for allegedly trying to seek political and financial favour from Tinubu.
Responding to his critics in a post he shared on his verified social media pages, Obi described them as blackmailers, noting that their claims are baseless 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, and 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.
“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.”
Furthermore, Obi dismissed claims that he owns Fidelity Bank, stressing that he served as a Chairman/Director of 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.
“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.”
