“Peter Obi’s visit to Rome was to meet President Tinubu to help intervene and prevent the bankruptcy of Fidelity Bank over the issue,” one of the sources told Sahara Reporters.
The Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate Peter Obi has vehemently denied Sahara Reporters’ claims that his May 9 Vatican trip involved covert negotiations with President Bola Tinubu to salvage Fidelity Bank from purported ₦225 billion liabilities. Calling it a “blackmail campaign,” Obi stated he only briefly greeted Tinubu during Pope Francis’ lying-in-state ceremony.
“These claims are not only baseless but malicious,” Obi tweeted Thursday, clarifying his Rome-London-Nigeria itinerary. He dismissed suggestions of meeting Lagos Governor Sanwo-Olu or ex-Ekiti Governors Fayose/Fayemi to facilitate presidential access, maintaining: “I’ve never sought audience with Tinubu since his inauguration beyond a 1-minute Vatican greeting.”
The former Anambra governor described negative propaganda against him as blackmailers’ “biggest business,” insisting his Rome visit was strictly spiritual. The Presidency reportedly declined any private meeting, demanding public interactions if held. Obi’s denial follows swirling speculation about opposition figures engaging the administration amid Nigeria’s economic challenges.
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