Former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi has dismissed claims linking him to a secret meeting with President Bola Tinubu in Rome and allegations regarding a ₦225 billion debt crisis involving Fidelity Bank.
Obi was reacting to a report that suggested his May 9 trip to Rome was not for ceremonial purposes, but rather a political move to safeguard the financial stability of Fidelity Bank.
According to Sahara Reporters, the trip was allegedly intended for a private meeting with President Tinubu to seek assistance in managing Fidelity Bank’s reported liabilities, which the publication claims are nearing ₦225 billion, as determined by various court rulings.
“Peter Obi’s visit to Rome was to meet President Tinubu to help intervene and prevent the bankruptcy of Fidelity Bank over the issue,” a source reportedly told Sahara Reporters.
The report further claimed that before the Rome trip, Obi had met with several prominent figures including Lagos Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the Ooni of Ife, former Ekiti Governor Ayodele Fayose, and eventually Kayode Fayemi, who was said to have accompanied him to Rome.
It also stated that the Presidency declined a private meeting, insisting that any engagement with the President must be conducted in the public eye.
In response, Obi took to Twitter on Thursday, calling the report a “blackmail campaign” and stating that targeted propaganda against him had become a booming business.
“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,” he wrote.
He firmly denied ever meeting President Tinubu privately or representing Fidelity Bank in any capacity, calling the claims “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.”
Obi added that: “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.”
However, The Guardian reported discrepancies in Obi’s account, noting that the lying-in-state for Pope Francis took place on April 23, 2025, with the funeral scheduled for April 26—contradicting Obi’s May 9 travel date.
Obi also denied any ownership of Fidelity Bank, clarifying that while he served in leadership roles within financial institutions, he never held a majority stake.
“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.”
Concluding his statement, the former Anambra State governor offered a message to those spreading 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.”