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🇳🇬 Nigeria /Elections & Politics

Obi ignored protocol and is courting trouble, Benue commissioner says

From The Punch · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Benue Information Commissioner Solomon Iorpev accused Peter Obi of failing to officially notify the state government about his visit.
  • Iorpev said the omission meant the state could not guarantee Obi’s security after youths blocked his convoy.
  • The commissioner said he did not know who was behind the blockade and attributed it to the timing of Obi’s visit and a meeting of youths from the state’s 23 local government areas.

Benue State Information Commissioner Solomon Iorpev says Peter Obi is “looking for our trouble” after youths blocked the presidential candidate’s convoy during a visit to the state.

Iorpev said the incident followed Obi’s failure to officially inform the state government about his arrival. He described Obi as a high-profile figure and former governor whose security should have been arranged by the host state.

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.

· Solomon IorpevThe Benue information commissioner said Obi should have formally notified the state government before visiting.

“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.”

We are supposed to guarantee his safety and protection, but in an instance where no letter was written, we could not guarantee his safety.

· Solomon IorpevIorpev linked the lack of advance notice to the state’s inability to guarantee Obi’s security.

The commissioner said this was not the first time Obi had ignored the protocol. He added that he did not know the youths involved in the blockade and said the visit regrettably coincided with a gathering of young people from Benue’s 23 local government areas.

“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. Iorpev described Benue as peaceful and hospitable while criticizing the circumstances surrounding the visit.

He is just looking for our trouble. We are peace loving and hospitable people.

· Solomon IorpevThe commissioner criticized Obi’s handling of the visit while describing Benue’s character.
About this summary

Originally published by The Punch in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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