Benue State Commissioner for Information, Solomon Iorpev, has accused the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, of “looking for our trouble” by allegedly failing to officially notify the state government before visiting.
Iorpev spoke on Tuesday while reacting to the blockage of Obi’s convoy by some youths on Gboko Road, near the Air Force Base.
The commissioner said Obi, as a former governor and high-profile personality, was expected to formally inform the state government of his visit so that adequate security arrangements could be made.
He said, “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. We are supposed to guarantee his safety and protection, but in an instance where no letter was written, we could not guarantee his safety.
“This is not the first time he is doing this. He is just looking for our trouble. We are peace loving and hospitable people.”
Iorpev, however, said he could not identify those responsible for blocking Obi’s convoy, adding that the incident coincided with a meeting of youths from the state’s 23 local government areas.
“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.