Peter Obi breaks silence on report of ‘Rome meeting with President Tinubu over N225bn debt’

Peter Obi, the 2023 Presidential Candidate of Labour Party, has rubbished a report by Sahara Reporters claiming he visited Rome to have a private meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu regarding a purported ₦225 billion debt crisis involving one Nigerian bank.

Sahara Reporters quoted an anonymous saying: “Peter Obi’s visit to Rome was to meet President Tinubu to help intervene and prevent the bankruptcy of Fidelity Bank over the issue,” one of the sources said.

“Prior to visiting Rome to meet President Tinubu, Peter Obi had met Lagos Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the Ooni of Ife, former Ekiti Governor Ayodele Fayose and eventually former Ekiti Governor Kayode Fayemi, who accompanied him to Rome to solve the problem.”

“However, the Presidency reportedly resisted holding such a meeting behind closed doors, insisting that any interaction with the President must take place in public view.

“That was the reason why Obi met President Tinubu at the Vatican.”

Responding to the report on Thursday morning, Obi labelled it as baseless, malicious, and entirely false.

The former governor also noted that he does not own Fidelity Bank and has never sought an audience with President Tinubu since he assumed office.

Below is the full statement issued by Peter 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.

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.

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.