Olushola Omogbehin
Following the report of the prevention of the Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, from entering Benue State after protesters barricaded Gboko Road in Makurdi, the Benue State Government has denied knowledge of his visit to the state.
The Chief Press Secretary to Governor Hyacinth Alia, Kula Tersoo, disclosed on Tuesday that neither the governor nor the state government was aware of Obi’s reported visit to Yelewata, a community in Guma Local Government Area where more than 200 people were killed in a recent attack.
He said the state government would have expected security agencies to be notified ahead of a visit by a presidential candidate to enable adequate security arrangements.
“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.
“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.”
Speaking further, the Chief Press Secretary said “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 the governor is not aware. So you will even doubt if he came to this state at all.
The protesters who blocked the road near the Nigerian Air Force Base and Makurdi Airport for many hours, disrupting traffic as Obi’s convoy was held back were chanting “We don’t want Peter Obi,”
Speaking at the scene, Obi said he had travelled to Benue to condole with victims of killings in the state but was stopped on the orders of a government aide.
“I was told that youths, led by an SA (Special Assistant) to the government, have decided to block the road and make sure I don’t go there,” he said.
Deescribing the blockade as unacceptable, Obi said: “The rascality they are bringing into this country is totally unacceptable. People are being killed every day in Benue. People want to show that they are with them, and I came here all the way this morning, a long distance, only to be told what you are seeing here.
“These youths are being used to do this. What they are doing now will take its revenge on them. They don’t know that. And unfortunately, somebody sits in office and allows this to happen,” he said.
