Benue Government Not Aware Of Obi’s Visit — Gov’s Aide

The Benue State Government has said it was not aware of the visit of the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, to the state on Tuesday, following the reported blockade of his convoy by some youths.

The Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Kula Tersoo, disclosed this in a telephone interview on Tuesday while reacting to the incident involving Obi, who was reportedly on his way to Yelewata to visit families of victims of the June 2025 massacre.

Obi’s convoy was reportedly stopped by some youths at Gyado Villa along Gboko Road, forcing him to return to Abuja.

Tersoo said the state government was not informed about Obi’s arrival, adding that the security agencies in the state would have been aware if the government had been properly notified.

“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.”

The governor’s aide also dismissed suggestions that the youths who allegedly blocked Obi’s convoy were acting on behalf of the state government.

“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,” he said.

However, the NDC governorship candidate in Benue State, Prof. Terhemba Shija, said the relevant security agencies were duly informed of Obi’s visit.

Shija, in a telephone interview with PunchOnline, said Obi was heading to Yelewata to visit families of victims of the June 2025 massacre.

According to him, the team officially informed the police and the Department of State Services (DSS) about the visit, after which security personnel were deployed to accompany the presidential candidate.

He said, “Is Obi not a presidential candidate, INEC has lifted ban on campaign and we duly informed police and DSS about his visit to the state they deployed police and DSS to be with us.

“Shija dismissed the question of whether the state government was informed of Obi’s visit, arguing that the government ought to be aware that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had lifted the ban on campaigns.

“But government is aware that INEC has lifted ban on campaign, do we need to take permission from candidate?” Professor Shija asked.

The NDC governorship candidate described the incident as “a demonstration of fear, a clear show that Obi is the man to watch”, adding, “he has come just to see families of victims of Yelewata why should somebody stop a legitimate candidate after he has officially given notice to CP and DSS?”

Meanwhile, the Benue State Police Command has confirmed that it was aware of Obi’s movement to the state.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Command’s spokesperson, DSP Peter Aondongu, said police operatives provided security for the movement but that the reason the youths blocked the convoy remained unknown.

“We can confirm that the police are aware of the incident involving Peter Obi’s movement to Yelwata. Police operatives provided security for the movement.

“The reason the convoy was blocked by some youths is still unknown. We are monitoring the situation and investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident.

“Further updates will be provided accordingly,” the PPRO said.