Alia Govt: We Didn’t Know Peter Obi Was Coming to Benue

The Benue State Government has denied knowledge of Peter Obi’s reported visit to the state, following allegations that the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) had his convoy blocked by youths.

The Chief Press Secretary to Governor Hyacinth Alia, Kula Tersoo, said on Tuesday that neither the governor nor the state government was informed about Obi’s reported visit to Yelewata in Guma Local Government Area.

Yelewata was recently attacked, with more than 200 people reportedly killed in the violence.

Speaking in a telephone interview, Tersoo said a visit by a presidential candidate should ordinarily be communicated to the relevant security agencies to allow adequate security arrangements to be made.

He described Obi as a prominent political figure who, as a former two-term governor and presidential candidate, should have adequate security protection during such a visit.

“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.

He added that the state’s security architecture, including the police, Department of State Services and Civil Defence, should ordinarily be informed ahead of such a visit.

“If you are visiting a state, the security apparatus of the state is supposed to know. The Commissioner of Police, Director of DSS, Civil Defence and others are supposed to be aware so that they can provide adequate security for you,” he said.

The governor’s spokesman also questioned how youths could allegedly block the movement of a presidential candidate if adequate security arrangements had been made.

Tersoo rejected suggestions that Governor Alia could have mobilised youths to prevent Obi from accessing the state, insisting that the governor did not support thuggery.

“Governor Alia does not promote thuggery in Benue State. If Obi is a threat to him, or maybe he felt that Obi’s coming would cause a problem for him, the right thing to do is to get legitimate security operatives to do the needful and not to gather youths or send them to go and block him,” he said.

According to Tersoo, 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.

The governor’s aide also referred to an earlier claim by Obi that he was prevented from visiting Benue and that shootings occurred when he eventually arrived.

Tersoo said the state government had previously sought security reports to establish what happened during that incident, adding that similar questions had arisen over Tuesday’s reported blockade.

He maintained that security agencies should have coordinated the movement of a presidential candidate to prevent any group of youths from interfering with his convoy.

“If those people are aware, they are supposed to make adequate security for him such that the youths cannot even stop him. For the youths to have stopped him, it means there was no adequate security, that is, if at all he came. There is something wrong somewhere,” Tersoo said.

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

Obi’s media aide, Esther Umoh, had earlier shared videos on X alleging that sponsored thugs blocked Boko Road by the Air Force Base and attempted to disrupt the former Anambra governor’s movement.

The identities and motives of the individuals seen in the videos had not been independently established as of the time of filing this report.