The Benue State Government has said it was not informed about the visit of Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate Peter Obi to the state on Tuesday.
Obi’s convoy was reportedly blocked by youths at Gyado Villa along the Gboko Road while he was on his way to Yelewata.
The former Anambra governor was travelling to Benue to meet with families affected by the June 2025 attack in Yelewata, where several people were killed.
His visit was part of efforts to meet those who lost loved ones and assess the situation in the community.
The state government, through the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Hyacinth Alia, Kula Tersoo, said it had no prior knowledge of Obi’s arrival in Benue.
Tersoo in a statement said the government would have been able to respond more quickly to the incident if it had been informed of the visit.
He also questioned the security arrangements around Obi, given his position as a presidential candidate and former governor.
He said the responsibility for providing protection to a presidential candidate should involve federal security agencies as well as the security authorities in the state being visited.
The governor’s aide also rejected suggestions that the youths who stopped Obi were acting for the state government.
He said the administration did not use thugs and that Obi was not considered a threat to Governor Alia.
He said: “We are not aware of his coming to the state, and if it were to be security agents that stopped him, it would have been easy for us to find out what happened.
“As presidential candidate of a party and former governor he is a property of federal government and ought to have been given security, where are those security agents around him and if he is going to any state, the security of the host state should know so as to provide security for him.
“We were surprised that youth would stop someone, youth can not do anything on behalf of government. Our government doesn’t patronize thugs and in any case Obi is not a threat to the governor, we are not aware that Obi is coming to Benue. Am hearing it from you.”
