Peter Obi attends Pope’s inauguration in Rome to beg Tinubu over Fidelity Bank’s N225bn debt crisis – Report

Peter Obi, Tinubu and others attended the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV held at the Vatican City in Rome on Sunday, May 19, 2025.

Photos of Tinubu, Obi, and former Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi briefly engaging at Pope Leo XIV’s installation mass on Sunday surfaced on social media, sparking speculation about a political reconciliation between the 2023 election rivals. 

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Presidential aide Bayo Onanuga confirmed the moment in a social media post, noting that Fayemi, also a Papal Knight, persuaded Obi, a fellow Catholic, to approach and greet President Tinubu at the event.

Obi and Tinubu have remained on opposite sides of Nigeria’s political divide since the 2023 presidential election, with Obi emerging as one of Tinubu’s most vocal critics. Their unexpected encounter in Rome triggered mixed reactions among supporters of both men.

In a post made on his Twitter after leaving the event, Peter Obi, said that his participation at the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican, in Rome, is not political.

He said his participation was in line with his previous witnessing of inaugurations, swearing-ins, and official ceremonies across the world.

However, a report from Sahara Reports said that Obi’s trip to Rome was not merely a religious gesture.

According to sources familiar with the matter, the visit was a high-stakes effort to seek Tinubu’s intervention in a financial crisis facing Fidelity Bank Plc.

The bank, where Obi once served as chairman and in which he still reportedly holds a significant stake, is facing a ₦225 billion judgment debt stemming from a longstanding legal battle with Sagecom Concept Limited.

Sahara Reporter said Obi had attempted to arrange a private meeting with the President at his hotel, but the Presidency declined, insisting that any interaction must occur publicly. The brief Vatican exchange was therefore orchestrated as a compromise.

A senior government source said that after the widely publicised encounter at the Vatican, Obi made an attempt to meet President Tinubu privately at the hotel where the Nigerian leader was staying, but he was denied access.

“They are supposed to have follow-up meetings,” the source said. “Peter Obi was blocked from meeting Tinubu in the hotel after they met at the Vatican.”

The debt at the centre of the crisis stems from a protracted legal dispute with Ibadan-based Sagecom Concept Limited. In a recent ruling, the Supreme Court affirmed earlier judgments that found Fidelity Bank jointly and severally liable—alongside construction firm G. Cappa Plc—for substantial special damages resulting from lost rental income on a high-end property in Ikoyi, Lagos.

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

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Sources further said that in a bid to rally support before heading to Rome, Obi held a series of consultations with influential Nigerian figures, including Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, and former Ekiti governors Ayodele Fayose and Kayode Fayemi. It was Fayemi who ultimately agreed to travel with Obi to the Vatican, where they sought a crucial meeting with President Tinubu.