MAKURDI: Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has come under criticism from the Benue State Government following the reported blockage of his convoy by youths while he was travelling to Yelwata community in Guma Local Government Area.
Benue State Commissioner for Information, Solomon Iorpev, said Obi was “courting trouble” by repeatedly visiting the state without formally informing the government, despite his status as a former governor and presidential candidate.
Iorpev was reacting to the reported incident on Tuesday, when youths allegedly blocked Obi’s convoy along the Gboko-Makurdi Expressway, preventing him from proceeding to Yelwata.
According to the commissioner, Obi should have officially notified the state government ahead of his visit so that adequate security arrangements could be made.
A high-profile person who has been a former governor of a state is coming into the state; he should have written a letter to the State Government,” Iorpev said.
He added that the state government was expected to guarantee Obi’s safety and protection while he was within its territory.
“We are supposed to guarantee his safety and protection, but in an instance where no letter was written, we could not guarantee his safety,” the commissioner stated.
Iorpev further alleged that the incident was not the first occasion on which Obi had failed to follow the expected protocol before visiting Benue.
“This is not the first time he is doing this. He is just looking for our trouble. We are peace loving and hospitable people, he said.
Despite criticizing Obi for allegedly failing to notify the state government, Iorpev said he did not know the identity of the youths who reportedly blocked the convoy.
The commissioner explained that Obi’s visit coincided with a meeting involving youths from the state’s 23 local government areas.
According to him, the youths could have been travelling to or from the meeting when they encountered Obi’s convoy on the road.
So, if they were coming from either Tarka, Gboko, Buruku, Ushongo, Konshisha or Vandeikya at the same time of his visit and blocked the road, it is unfortunate. I do not know the youths who did that,” he said.
The commissioner’s comments appear to distance the Benue State Government from allegations that the youths were mobilised by political actors to prevent Obi from reaching Yelwata.
Obi, however, has maintained that his visit to Benue was not politically motivated.
Speaking after the reported incident, the NDC presidential candidate said he travelled to the state to sympathise with victims of the deadly Yelwata attack and show solidarity with affected residents.
I am in Benue today not for campaigns. I only wanted to go to a place where people lost their lives, to condole and show solidarity with them,” Obi stated.
The former Anambra State governor had arrived in Makurdi earlier on Tuesday and was travelling towards Yelwata when his convoy was reportedly stopped.
The June 13, 2025 attack in Yelwata claimed numerous lives and displaced residents, triggering widespread condemnation and renewed calls for improved security in Benue.
Obi had planned to visit affected residents and reportedly present relief materials as part of his humanitarian mission.
The Benue State NDC Publicity Secretary, Agile Bem Ordedoo, alleged that thousands of thugs were mobilised to stop Obi from entering Yelwata.
Thugs in their numbers mobilised in thousands and stopped the presidential candidate of NDC, Mr Peter Obi, from entering Yelwata to condole with victims and offer relief materials worth billions,” Ordedoo alleged.
The allegation has not been independently established.
The All-Progressives Congress (APC) in Benue has denied involvement in the reported attack.
The APC Publicity Secretary in the state, Benedict Yaweh, said the party was not aware of the incident and maintained that its members were not responsible.
We are not aware of the attack if truly they were attacked in Makurdi. If they were attacked, it may be from their aggrieved supporters and not APC members. We are a peace-loving party and we don’t involve in thuggery,” Yaweh said.
Reacting to the incident, Obi said the development showed the extent to which Nigerian politics had deteriorated.
You can see the level to which our politics has degenerated,” he said.
He recalled that he had used an event the previous day, while joining an APM candidate to launch an office, to appeal for a more peaceful political environment.“That was why yesterday, while joining the APM candidate in launching his office, I used the opportunity to plead with our people, let our next politics be a politics of unity,” Obi stated.
NDC vice-presidential candidate Rabiu Kwankwaso also condemned the reported attack on Obi’s convoy.
Kwankwaso described the incident as “another dark day for our democracy” and called for those responsible to be identified and prosecuted.
He urged the authorities to guarantee Obi’s safety and freedom of movement, while calling for greater protection of opposition politicians ahead of the 2027 elections.
Kwankwaso also appealed to President Bola Tinubu to caution APC governors against actions that could undermine democratic freedoms.
The former Kano State governor further urged diplomatic missions and election-monitoring organisations to pay attention to developments involving opposition politicians in Nigeria.
Meanwhile, the Benue State Police Command had yet to independently confirm the circumstances surrounding the reported attack at the time of filing the reports.
The command’s spokesperson, Peter Orchia Aondongu, reportedly did not respond to calls seeking clarification on the incident.
The lack of an immediate police account means questions remain over who organised the youths, what exactly happened along the road and whether the incident was politically motivated.
For the Benue State Government, however, the controversy has also highlighted the importance of notifying authorities ahead of visits by high-profile political figures.
For Obi and his supporters, the incident has raised concerns about political tolerance and the ability of opposition politicians to move freely across the country.
The disagreement over what happened in Benue is therefore developing into a wider political debate, with the NDC demanding accountability, the APC denying involvement and the state government maintaining that Obi failed to follow the necessary protocol.
As political activities intensify ahead of the 2027 elections, the incident is likely to keep attention focused on political tolerance, security arrangements and the relationship between opposition politicians and state governments.
