Peter Obi Slams Blackmail Campaign, Denies Secret Meeting with Tinubu Over ₦225bn Debt Allegation

 

Peter Obi, former presidential candidate of the Labour Party and ex-Governor of Anambra State, has strongly denied reports linking him to a covert meeting with President Bola Tinubu in Rome over a purported ₦225 billion financial scandal involving Fidelity Bank. The seasoned politician dismissed the allegations as fabrications designed to tarnish his image.

Speaking through a statement on Thursday, Obi accused political detractors of orchestrating a calculated blackmail campaign. He criticized what he described as a disturbing trend where individuals manufacture false narratives solely to attack his person.

“Blackmailers now seem to have made a career out of dragging my name through the mud from every possible angle,” Obi stated. “Even my quiet spiritual journey to Rome has been maliciously twisted into a supposed political maneuver.”

Recent media reports claimed Obi secretly met with President Tinubu in the Italian capital to solicit assistance over a financial controversy linked to Fidelity Bank, where Obi once held a board position. The report implied that the former governor was trying to avert a scandal surrounding the bank.

Obi categorically rejected the story, asserting that no such meeting took place. The only encounter he acknowledged occurred briefly during a religious event at the Vatican.

“I have never sought a private audience with President Tinubu since his inauguration,” Obi clarified. “The only interaction was at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome during the inauguration Mass of Pope Leo XIV. I merely exchanged greetings with him and other dignitaries as a matter of respect and courtesy.”

Turning attention to his past professional ties, Obi addressed claims suggesting he owned Fidelity Bank. He made it clear that while he had served in leadership roles at several financial institutions, he holds no ownership stake in the bank.

“There is a desperate effort to mislead the public by claiming that I own Fidelity Bank,” Obi said. “That is completely untrue. Fidelity has over 500,000 shareholders, and no single individual has a majority stake—including myself.”

Obi noted that he had previously served as Chairman or Director in three different financial institutions, one of which was Fidelity Bank, but emphasized that such appointments are not equivalent to ownership.

He also expressed concern that the unfounded reports could have far-reaching consequences beyond political mudslinging. “These reckless claims don’t just harm me,” he noted. “They inflict unnecessary anxiety on hard-working Nigerians who are shareholders in the institution.”

Obi called out what he termed a “self-proclaimed blackmailer-in-chief” for spreading what he described as deliberate lies aimed at sowing discord and damaging public trust. He insisted that such actions were not only baseless but deeply irresponsible.

This public response from Obi marks a clear attempt to distance himself from both the alleged debt crisis and any personal financial impropriety. As political tensions remain high in the country, the former governor’s message underscores his insistence on maintaining transparency and resisting efforts to manipulate public opinion through deceit.