Between Peter Obi and Tompolo

On July 18, 2025, the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) sold about 1.14 billion Fidelity Bank shares, roughly 2.3 per cent of the bank. The buyer was described only as a prominent Niger Delta oil and gas security businessman. Then capital market sources started speculating that the buyer is High Chief Government Ekpemupolo, known as Tompolo, who chairs Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited. If reports are to be believed, he has continued to buy and now leads the shareholder register.

In recent times, new reports emerged that Tompolo wants a say in who succeeds Dr Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, the Managing Director since January 2021. Her tenure ends on December 31, 2026. This is how Peter Obi, former Anambra State governor, comes into the picture. Obi was a pioneer major shareholder at Fidelity. In fact, he became the bank’s chairman in 1994. He always says that he does not own it, that his board seat is a professional duty. But the documents leave little room between the two men.

Fidelity’s 2025 annual report counted 525,912 shareholders and 50.2 billion shares at December 31, 2025, and said none held up to five per cent. With the July sale falling before that date, and with the bank calling the takeover story unsupported, people are left scratching their heads.

The claims about Obi meet the same difficulty. Reports on platforms such as SaharaReporters say he secretly holds up to 29.5 per cent through proxies, nearly six times that five per cent ceiling. Unnamed shareholders have made similar claims in other reports.

Those who see a contest have reasons. Obi is preparing a 2027 presidential run under the Nigeria Democratic Congress, and a chief executive’s exit is a decision any large shareholder would want to influence. Rivals also allege that the bank’s structures are being used to pool funds for him. The bank rejects that claim and says it is detached from partisan  politics.

Essentially, it is all very interesting. Who would have thought that Obi would ever be affixed to the same table as Tompolo, being of—some might say—reverse dispositions. Still, perhaps the identity of the person the board puts forward to succeed Onyeali-Ikpe will make things a bit clearer.(Thisday)