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₦225bn Bank Debt: Obi Debunks Claims Of Private Talks With Tinubu

BY CHIKA OKEKE, Abuja
   Peter Obi 

The 2023 Labour Party Presidential Candidate, Peter Obi has debunked rumors of engaging in private talks with President Bola Tinubu in Rome. 
This followed allegations on Social Media platforms that Obi held private meeting with President Tinubu regarding a purported ₦225 billion debt crisis involving Fidelity Bank.
News Rider reports that President Tinubu was one of the World leaders that attended the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV on Sunday, May 18 in Rome, where he exchanged pleasantries with Obi. 
But in a statement via the microblogging platform, X on Thursday, May 22, 2025, Obi lamented that his solemn spiritual trip to Rome was twisted by blackmailers paid to propagate evil against him. 
The statement 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.
While describing the claims as baseless, the former Governor of Anambra State informed that the intent of the blackmailers was to cause needless stress to hardworking Nigerians by propagating falsehood. 
He said: "These claims are not only 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. 
"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."
He begged God to grant virtues of gratitude and understanding to  persons peddling falsehood and engaging in blackmail against him. 
"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," he added. 
His Holiness Pope Leo XIV was installed as the 267th Bishop of Rome and the new leader of the Roman Catholic Church, after the death of  Pope Francis on April 21, 2025.

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