Benue State Commissioner for Information, Solomon Iorpev, has accused Peter Obi of repeatedly failing to follow the state’s protocol for high-profile visitors, saying the presidential candidate is “looking for our trouble.”
Iorpev made the remarks while reacting to Tuesday’s incident in which Obi’s convoy was reportedly stopped by youths along Gboko Road in Makurdi.
According to the commissioner, Obi should have formally notified the Benue State Government before visiting, particularly because of his status as a former governor and presidential candidate.
He argued that such notification would allow the state authorities to make the necessary security arrangements for the visitor.
“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.
“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 alleged that Tuesday’s incident was not the first occasion on which Obi had failed to follow the expected procedure when 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.
However, Iorpev said he did not know who organised the youths who blocked Obi’s movement and did not directly attribute the incident to any particular group or government official.
He explained that Obi’s visit happened to coincide with a meeting involving youths drawn from the 23 local government areas of Benue State.
“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,” the commissioner said.
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Obi was reportedly travelling towards Yelwata to visit families affected by the June 2025 killings when his convoy encountered the youths at Gyado Villa along Gboko Road.
The incident has generated conflicting accounts over whether the state government was informed ahead of the visit.
While Benue Government officials have said they were unaware of Obi’s arrival, his party’s state governorship candidate, Prof. Terhemba Shija, has maintained that security agencies were notified and deployed personnel to accompany the former Anambra governor.
The Benue State Police Command also confirmed that it was aware of Obi’s movement to Yelwata and said police operatives provided security for the convoy.
Police spokesperson DSP Peter Aondongu said the reason the youths blocked the convoy remained unknown and that the command was investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident.
The commissioner’s comments therefore add another dimension to the dispute, with the state government maintaining that the appropriate notification procedure was not followed while Obi’s political team insists that relevant security authorities were informed.