ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- The Benue State Government and the team of the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, have disagreed over whether the state authorities were informed ahead of his visit to the state on Tuesday.
The disagreement followed an incident in which some youths reportedly blocked Obi’s convoy at Gyado Villa along the Gboko Road while he was on his way to Yelewata.
Obi was said to have planned the visit to meet families of victims of the June 2025 massacre in the community.
While the state government said it had no knowledge of the former Anambra State governor’s arrival, the NDC governorship candidate in Benue State, Prof. Terhemba Shija, maintained that the relevant security agencies had been formally notified.
Punch reports that the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Hyacinth Alia, Kula Tersoo, said the government was unaware of the visit.
“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,” Tersoo said in a telephone interview.
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He questioned why Obi, as a presidential candidate and former governor, would be travelling without adequate security arrangements being known to the host state.
According to him, presidential candidates are entitled to security protection, while the security agencies in a state should be aware when such high-profile visits are taking place.
Tersoo also denied any involvement by the Alia administration in the incident, saying the government did not sponsor youths to obstruct Obi’s movement.
“We were surprised that youth would stop someone. Youth cannot do anything on behalf of government. Our government doesn’t patronise thugs and in any case Obi is not a threat to the governor,” he said.
However, Shija dismissed the government’s claim that it was unaware of the visit, insisting that Obi’s team had duly notified the police and Department of State Services of his movement.
He said security personnel were deployed to accompany the delegation throughout the visit.
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“Is Obi not a presidential candidate? INEC has lifted the 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 said.
The NDC candidate questioned whether a presidential candidate required permission from another political office holder to visit a state, arguing that the lifting of the campaign ban by the Independent National Electoral Commission had opened the way for political activities.
“But government is aware that INEC has lifted ban on campaign, do we need to take permission from candidate?” he asked.
Shija described the obstruction as politically motivated, saying the incident showed that Obi was being closely watched because of his growing political profile.
He stressed that the former Anambra governor was not visiting Benue for a political rally but to sympathise with families affected by the Yelewata killings.
Meanwhile, the Benue State Police Command confirmed that it was aware of Obi’s movement and that its personnel provided security for the convoy.
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The command’s spokesperson, DSP Peter Aondongu, said the circumstances surrounding the blockade remained unclear.
“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,” Aondongu said.
He added that the command was investigating the incident and monitoring developments to establish why the youths blocked the convoy.
“The reason the convoy was blocked by some youths is still unknown. We are monitoring the situation and investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident,” he said.
As of the time of filing the report, Obi was said to have returned to Abuja.
The incident has nevertheless raised questions over security coordination and political activities in Benue as parties and their candidates intensify preparations ahead of the 2027 general elections.