Benue Gov Knocks Obi: He Breached Protocol, We Didn’t Know He Was Coming

The Benue State Government has denied being aware of a reported visit by the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, to the state, following claims that his convoy was allegedly blocked by youths.

The Chief Press Secretary to Governor Hyacinth Alia, Kula Tersoo, disclosed this in a telephone interview with journalists on Tuesday.

According to Tersoo, neither Governor Alia nor the state government was informed about Obi’s reported visit to Yelewata, a community in Guma Local Government Area where more than 200 people were recently killed in an attack.

He said a visit by a presidential candidate should ordinarily be communicated to security agencies to ensure adequate protection.

“Peter Obi is a presidential candidate of a political party and a former two-term governor. He is not a small man in this country. He is supposed to be prepared for and given adequate security,” Tersoo said.

The governor’s spokesman questioned how youths could allegedly block Obi’s convoy if security agencies had been properly informed of his movement.

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Tersoo also dismissed claims that Governor Alia could have mobilised youths to prevent Obi from accessing the state, insisting that the governor does not support thuggery.

He said if Obi was considered a threat, the appropriate response would have been for legitimate security agencies to handle the situation rather than youths being allegedly deployed to stop him.

According to him, no security agency briefed Governor Alia about Obi’s reported visit.

“But the governor is not aware. So you will even doubt if he came to this state at all,” he said.

Tersoo further recalled an earlier allegation by Obi that he was stopped from visiting Benue and that shootings occurred when he eventually arrived. He said the state government had previously requested security reports to establish what happened.

Vanguard reports that he maintained that Tuesday’s reported incident raised similar questions, stressing that presidential candidates require proper security coordination during movements.

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The denial followed reports that Obi’s convoy was allegedly blocked by youths while attempting to gain access to Benue State.