By Abiola Olawale
The Benue State Government has fired back at the 2027 presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, challenging him and his party to publicly name the specific government aide allegedly linked to the recent blockade of his convoy.
The fiery exchange follows a dramatic incident on Tuesday along the Makurdi-Gboko federal highway, where a stick-wielding crowd forced Obi’s motorcade to abort a humanitarian trip to Yelwata, Guma Local Government Area. Obi had intended to visit the community to commiserate with families affected by previous violent attacks.
Speaking on behalf of the administration, Chief Press Secretary to Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State, Tersoo Kula, vehemently denied any state-sponsored involvement or prior knowledge of the disruption, dismissing Obi’s allegations as baseless political rhetoric.
Kula challenged Obi to name the aide they alleged was responsible for blocking Obi from visiting the Yelewata community in the state.
He also demanded that the party and its presidential flagbearer should provide evidence linking the aide to the alleged obstruction, saying the state government was ready to allow the police to investigate the incident and bring anyone found responsible to book.
Speaking on The Morning Show, an Arise TV programme, on Wednesday, Kula insisted that the state government was initially unaware of the incident until pictures of the obstruction surfaced on the internet.
He said: “The incident was completely unknown to the government until we started seeing pictures of what was happening. But before you say, Jack, they addressed the press and accused the governor of blocking his way. Now, the governor has become an accused person.
“I challenged them to name that aide. They mentioned a particular aide, and we said they should go ahead and mention him. If there’s any evidence, the police commissioner should ensure that the person who directed this is arrested and brought to book. These are easy assignments. They can do it.”
On insecurity in Benue State, he said: “What is happening in Benue State is somehow difficult to understand. What is happening to Benue State in respect to insecurity is happening to other states. It’s not peculiar to Benue. But there is no excuse for saying that because it’s happening to other states, we should be comfortable. We are not comfortable. The reverend father has told you earlier that he is not comfortable and is not sleeping, ensuring that insecurity is reduced to the barest minimum. We now have what we can describe as relative peace in the state.”
