Peter Obi, former Labour Party presidential candidate, has denied the report that he travelled to Rome to meet President Bola Tinubu over an alleged ₦225 billion debt linked to Fidelity Bank.
In a statement released on Thursday, Obi said the report is part of a blackmail campaign aimed at damaging his reputation.
“It’s obvious that the biggest business for blackmailers now is talking about Peter Obi from every negative perspective.” He said, “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.”
A media report recently alleged that Obi met secretly with Tinubu in Rome to plead for intervention in a purported financial scandal involving Fidelity Bank, where he served as a board member.
However, the former Governor of Anambra State categorically denied ever requesting or holding a private meeting with the president on account of any bank.
“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,” he said.
Obi also cleared the air on his relationship with Fidelity Bank, saying he does not own the bank.
He said, “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.”
(Vanguard)
