EXCLUSIVE: Peter Obi Went To Rome To Plead With Tinubu Over Fidelity Bank’s N225Billion Debt, Not For Papal Inauguration

Contrary to claims suggesting otherwise, former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi’s recent visit to Rome was not a ceremonial religious trip but a high-stakes political move aimed at saving Fidelity Bank Plc from financial collapse.

Sources familiar with the matter told SaharaReporters that Obi, a former chairman of Fidelity Bank in the early 2000s who still holds a significant stake in the institution, travelled to the Vatican to meet President Bola Tinubu over the bank’s looming ₦225 billion judgment debt.

The debt arose from a long-running legal battle with Ibadan-based Sagecom Concept Limited. A recent Supreme Court decision upheld earlier rulings that held Fidelity Bank jointly and severally liable—alongside construction firm G. Cappa Plc—for massive special damages tied to rental income losses on a luxury Ikoyi property.

With daily compounded interest at 19.5% per annum, the debt has ballooned to $139.3 million, equivalent to ₦224.5 billion as of May 20, 2025.

According to insiders, Obi had earlier attempted to build consensus on the issue by meeting key Nigerian political figures, including Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu; the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi and former Ekiti State governors Ayodele Fayose and Kayode Fayemi.

Fayemi eventually agreed to accompany Obi to Rome in a last-ditch effort to arrange an interface with President Tinubu.

“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 said.

“Prior to visiting Rome to meet President Tinubu, Peter Obi had met Lagos Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the Ooni of Ife, former Ekiti Governor Ayodele Fayose and eventually former Ekiti Governor Kayode Fayemi, who accompanied him to Rome to solve the problem.”

However, the Presidency reportedly resisted holding such a meeting behind closed doors, insisting that any interaction with the President must take place in public view.

“That was the reason why Obi met President Tinubu at the Vatican,” the source added.

This prompted the strategic appearance of both Obi and Fayemi at the installation mass of Pope Leo XIV on Sunday, where they greeted Tinubu during the global event attended by dignitaries and world leaders.

Presidential aide Bayo Onanuga confirmed the moment in a social media post, noting that it was Fayemi who encouraged Obi, a fellow Catholic and Papal Knight, to greet the President. The encounter, while outwardly cordial, was far from a coincidence or an act of spontaneous statesmanship.

Contrary to claims by Obi’s media handlers, sources say he was never invited to the papal installation and had no prior plans to attend, having already paid respects during the Pope’s burial.

The trip was hurriedly arranged with the singular goal of appealing to President Tinubu for assistance in resolving the Fidelity Bank debt crisis, which, if unresolved, could trigger catastrophic financial consequences for the institution.

“Don’t pay attention to the propaganda by his team members; Peter Obi was not invited to the papal inauguration. In fact, he never planned to attend because he had already attended Pope’s burial,” one of the sources said.

“The impromptu trip was arranged for him to meet with Tinubu over Fidelity Bank’s issue.”

Meanwhile, Fidelity Bank continues to publicly insist that its actual liability is only about ₦14 billion, while claiming $633,750 in other documents, a claim sharply at odds with court-awarded figures now nearing ₦225 billion.

“Fayemi sighted President Tinubu, where he sat with other leaders and asked Obi to follow him to pay homage to the Nigerian leader. Obi agreed,” Onanuga said in a statement on Sunday.

Onanuga added that upon reaching the President, Fayemi “broke the ice between Obi and Tinubu”.

Tinubu and Obi were opponents in the 2023 presidential election, which Tinubu won. Since then, Obi has remained a vocal critic of Tinubu’s administration, often prompting sharp responses from the presidency.

Their interaction in Rome sparked mixed reactions among their respective supporters.

Peter Obi later addressed the viral photograph of himself with President Bola Tinubu during their visit to the Vatican for the inauguration of Pope Leo, stating that he is “not fighting the President”.

“Myself and the President are not fighting. We went for a church service in Rome,” he said on Monday after donating N20 million to Saint Andrews Anglican Church, Kubwa Diocese, Abuja.

“My fight is against bad governance, against hunger, against poverty, against out-of-school children, and against people not having access to health services.”

Meanwhile, the judgment against Fidelity Bank stems from a dispute that dates back years and involves a credit facility originally issued by the defunct FSB International Bank.

In a unanimous ruling delivered by five justices of the Supreme Court on April 11, 2025, the apex court upheld the decision of the Court of Appeal, which had affirmed the judgment of the High Court of Lagos, Ikeja Division, delivered on January 20, 2018.

The Supreme Court ordered Fidelity Bank to pay the full amount in damages to Sagecom Concept Limited.

Despite the judgment, Fidelity Bank maintains that the amount due is significantly lower. In a statement released on Monday, the bank said it was committed to complying with the Supreme Court's decision but pegged its liability at approximately ₦14 billion.

In its abridged prospectus dated June 5, 2024, issued for a public offering by way of an offer for subscription of 10 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at ₦9.75 per share, Fidelity Bank disclosed a different amount.

The bank said it had three cases where judgment had previously been delivered against it.

It claimed that the “total monetary sum in the Three (3) cases in which judgment was delivered against the Bank is ₦150,000,000.00 (One Hundred and Fifty Million Naira) and USD$633,750 (Six Hundred and Thirty-Three Thousand, Seven Hundred and Fifty United States Dollars) excluding interests, which may accumulate on the judgment sum until same is finally liquidated.”

As of May 20, 2025, $633,750 was valued at ₦1,020,952,237.50 using the exchange rate of ₦1,610.97 per dollar, a figure that falls significantly short of the approximately ₦225 billion claimed.

Pandora Papers Controversy

Following the Pandora Papers leaks, Premium Times reported that Peter Obi had links to multiple offshore companies in tax havens such as the British Virgin Islands and Barbados.

According to the investigation, Obi was connected to shell companies established in the 1990s, including Barbados-based Beauchamp Investments Limited and UK-registered Next International (UK) Limited, both reportedly tied to him and his family. These offshore interests were reportedly formed before Obi assumed any political office in Nigeria.

Further revelations showed that in 2010, Obi engaged the services of Access International to help incorporate and manage Gabriella Investments Limited, a British Virgin Islands company named after his daughter.

One of the company’s directors also oversaw a Belize-based shell company that held 50,000 shares in Gabriella Investments. In 2017, Obi reportedly restructured the company under a new name, PMGG Investments Limited, and created a trust called The Gabriella Settlement, which became the sole shareholder of PMGG Investments.

However, Premium Times alleged that Obi continued to serve as a director of Next International (UK) Limited while he was Governor of Anambra State—an act that would contravene Nigeria’s Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act. In response, Obi told Arise News that he had resigned from all his business roles before taking office as governor.

The report further claimed that Obi failed to declare his offshore companies as required by the Nigerian Constitution, which mandates public officials to fully disclose all assets, liabilities, and properties.

Obi denied any wrongdoing, insisting that he complied with all legal requirements and that the funds in the offshore accounts were legitimate earnings from his pre-political business career.

In October 2021, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) invited Obi for questioning after then-President Muhammadu Buhari directed anti-graft agencies to investigate all Nigerians named in the Pandora Papers.