Festus Keyamo, Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, has condemned the mob action against Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, during his visit to Benue State.
On Tuesday, suspected thugs blocked Obi’s convoy on Gboko Road as he attempted to enter the North-Central state. Obi said he was in Benue to commiserate with victims of insecurity and planned to visit Yelwata, where deadly attacks occurred in 2025.
The Benue State Government denied having prior knowledge of Obi’s visit and rejected allegations that it deployed a mob to prevent him from entering the state.
In an X post on Wednesday, Keyamo said the blockade of Obi’s convoy by “some angry protesters” should be condemned by “all men of goodwill”.
“Whether the protest was a result of internal squabbles within the NDC (as posited by the Benue State Government) or sponsored by the APC or any other rival party, this should not be part of our democracy,” Keyamo said.
Keyamo said the action was unjustifiable even if Obi’s visit to Yelwata, where killings occurred more than a year ago, was considered politically motivated.
“That is still not acceptable; everyone should be allowed to move about freely and play their politics without such crude interference,” he said.
The minister, however, used the incident to criticise what he described as partisan reporting by sections of the media when political candidates face confrontations.
“However, there is no better time to draw the attention of Nigerians and the world to the spin that the partisan section of the media usually puts on such incidents,” he said.
“Many a time when an angry crowd confronts or molests an APC candidate at any level, the partisan Press shamelessly dubs or spins it as ‘rejection’ by ‘Nigerians’.
When it concerns the opposition, then it is ‘attack’ by ‘sponsored thugs’ or ‘hoodlums’. Just check most headlines today. This is what is unacceptable.”
Keyamo also accused some opposition leaders of openly encouraging hostility towards APC candidates, alleging that sections of the media failed to challenge such comments.
“In fact, many opposition leaders openly boast that the APC candidates cannot go to some parts of this country and shout ‘APC!’ without being ‘stoned’, ‘beaten’ or molested, yet the partisan Press do not call out such leaders and even help to accentuate such statements,” he said.
“What is good for the goose is also good for the gander. The Press must extricate itself from such partisanship and be fair to all.”
Keyamo said political disagreements should be settled through the ballot box rather than through violence or intimidation.
Source: Festus Keyamo’s X post
