141
By Tracy Moses
Former presidential candidate, Peter Obi, who contested under the platform of Labour Party in 2023 has strongly denied a wave of false allegations and blackmail attempts targeted at his person, describing them as part of a calculated effort to smear his reputation.
In a statement shared via his official Facebook page on Thursday, May 21, 2025, Obi addressed what he termed “malicious fabrications,” including a widely circulated claim linking his recent trip to Rome with a covert meeting involving President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and a purported ₦225 billion debt tied to Fidelity Bank.
Setting the record straight, Obi declared, “I want to categorically state that I have never sought a meeting with, nor met with, President Tinubu since his inauguration. The only contact I have had with him was a brief and respectful greeting during the inauguration Mass of Pope Leo XIV at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. I was seated behind him, along with other dignitaries.”
He clarified that his visit to Rome on May 9th was solely to attend the lying-in-state and funeral Mass of Pope Francis. Following the Vatican event, he traveled directly to London before returning to Nigeria. He dismissed the claim of a secret meeting as entirely fictitious.
Obi also took time to address another circulating falsehood: the claim that he owns Fidelity Bank. He firmly refuted the allegation, stating that while he once served as Chairman and Director of several financial institutions, including Fidelity Bank, he has never held ownership of the bank.
“Fidelity Bank is a publicly quoted institution with over 500,000 shareholders. No single individual holds a majority stake. The idea that I own the bank is not only false but also intended to damage the bank’s integrity and that of its hardworking shareholders, many of whom are ordinary Nigerians,” he explained.
The former Anambra State Governor described the orchestrated campaign against him as a broader attempt to mislead the public and instigate unwarranted tension.
Concluding his statement with a prayerful note, Obi said: “To those spreading these lies and engaging in blackmail, I offer a simple prayer: May God grant you the wisdom and gratitude to understand that we are born with nothing and will leave with nothing. You cannot truly prosper through deceit.”