Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 elections, has explained the nature of his recent encounter with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Rome, clarifying that the meeting was brief, informal, and unrelated to any financial controversy.
Obi stated that the meeting occurred during the inauguration Mass of Pope Leo XIV at Saint Peter’s Basilica. According to him, it lasted about one minute, during which he merely greeted the president and other dignitaries. He made this clarification in a post on his X (formerly Twitter) handle on Thursday.
He criticized ongoing attempts to misrepresent his actions, stating:
“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.”
Obi strongly denied allegations that he went to Rome to hold a secret meeting with President Tinubu over a supposed ₦225 billion debt crisis involving Fidelity Bank, where he once served as Chairman.
“These claims are not only baseless, malicious, but entirely false,” he said.
He added:
“Let me categorically state that I have never sought an audience with, nor met, President Tinubu since he assumed office, except for the one-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 further clarified his travel itinerary:
“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.”
Responding to claims that he owns Fidelity Bank, Obi said:
“Throughout my career, I have served as Chairman/Director of three 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.”
He concluded with a message to those spreading falsehoods:
“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.”
