Following reports that young people allegedly blocked Peter Obi’s convoy, the Benue State Government denied knowing that Obi, the Nigeria Democratic Congress’s (NDC) presidential candidate, had visited the state.
Governor Hyacinth Alia’s chief press secretary, Kula Tersoo, told Vanguard over the phone on Tuesday that neither the state government nor the governor were aware of Obi’s alleged visit to Yelewata, a community in Guma Local Government Area where a recent attack killed over 200 people.
According to Tersoo, in order to make appropriate security arrangements, the state government would have expected security agencies to be informed prior to a visit by a presidential candidate.
He said: “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.”
“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,” Tersoo said.
“But the governor is not aware. So you will even doubt if he came to this state at all.”
“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.”
The denial followed reports that Obi’s convoy was allegedly blocked by a group of youths while attempting to access Benue State.
It is essential that Peter Obi should have informed the Benue State authorities of his visit in advance. Proper notification would have enabled the security agencies to put the necessary arrangements in place, ensuring his safety and the smooth conduct of his visit. Transparency and coordination are crucial to avoid misunderstandings and to maintain the safety of all involved.
