Presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi has observed that the biggest business of some social media tigers and blackmailers is to twist his well intentioned activities into negative narratives to gain relevance, followership and commentary.
Reno Omokri, former aide to President Goodluck Jonathan on Social Media had last week, reported via his X handle that Obi was in Rome to seek audience with President Bola Tinubu over a N225 billion debt by Fidelity Bank that is threatening the stability of the financial institution.
In a disclaimer, The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Tuesday reported that the Nigerian banking sector remains resilient, safe, and sound. It stated that certain publications and social media reports contains misleading information regarding the operations of some financial institutions.
In a statement, CBN said that, the institution referenced in the reports is held to stringent regulatory requirements, and there is no cause for concern regarding the safety of depositors’ funds.
On the same note, Obi in his Facebook page on Thursday, wondered how his solemn trip to the Vatican during the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV was twisted to an avenue for an imaginary meeting with President Bola Tinubu over a purported ₦225 billion debt crisis involving Fidelity Bank.
The former Anambra State governor whose popularity and followership is growing by the day, wondered why mischief makers will continue to peddle falsehoods and engage in blackmail over his personality.
“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. These claims are not only baseless, malicious, but entirely false.”
Responding to the purported meeting with Tinubu he continued,
“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”.
Obi used the opportunity to clarify his stake in Fidelity Bank and other financial instituations in the country.
“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”.
