The 2023 presidential candidate under the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has denied meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the city of Rome to plead over Fidelity Bank’s N225 billion debt crisis.
Obi, in his verified Facebook post issued a statement that he was in Rome on 9th of May for the final burial of Pope Francis before proceeding to London city in England.
His statement partly reads, “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 for about a 1-minute meeting at the arena of Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome during the inauguration Mass of Pope Leo XIV, where I was seated behind and had to respectfully greet him and the other dignitaries present.”
He further stated that he was in Rome in the first week of May for the lying state of Pope Francis and exchanged pleasantries with dignitaries in attendance.
“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, and that they cannot profit from their evil ways.
