A massive fraud of trillions of Naira has been discovered as the real reason behind the forceful stoppage recently of His Excellency Peter Obi's visit to Yelwata to commiserate with victims of Fulani herdsmen attacks which claimed more than two hundred lives in the settlement in Guma Local Government in Benue State. It can be recalled that political thugs in hundreds mobilized by appointees of Benue Governor Hyacinth Alia Tuesday September 8 barricaded the highway from the Makurdi Airport into Makurdi town and forced Obi, Presidential candidate of NDC, to abort his humanitarian visit to IDPs in the settlement. It was the second time a visit by Obi to the area was forcefully aborted. Yelweta is a settlement in Guma, home local government to Benue's immediate past governor Samuel Ortom who had, during his tenure, brought to world attention the genocide against Christian communities in Nigeria's vast middle belt region. Ortom had, through passage of the open grazing prohibition law 2017, drawn the ire of the then federal government led by President Mohammadu Buhari (APC) and had rejected a N47b 'development grant' from Buhari's administration to withhold his assent to the bill. The former Governor has severally claimed that this was the reason he had faced several assassination attempts as well as deliberate economic marginalization from the Buhari administration. Last year's herdsmen attacks on Yelwata, which incumbent governor Alia continues to insist were 'mere skirmishes', were believed to be to teach Ortom a lesson. Last Friday September 11, Ortom's media adviser Terver Akase made another startling revelation concerning Governor Alia's sustained efforts to stop Peter Obi from visiting the ravaged settlement. Akase disclosed that an Obi visit to Yelwata would expose the falsehood behind claims by the Alia administration that there are no more idps in the area while also exposing the fraud of trillions of naira given to the administration for the reconstruction of the Yelwata community as well as rehabilitation of its citizens which many believe Governor Alia has converted to his personal use. "This man did not come in his own interest but to see your people," Akase said during the Friday press briefing. "But because you have told the world that there are no IDPs anymore in Benue, you don’t want a Peter Obi or any other person to visit the IDPs because they will expose the lie that you have put out there. That is why Obi was stopped," Akase stated. Several individuals have in the recent past questioned the whereabouts of trillions of Naira released to the Alia administration for the reconstruction of Yelwata as well as the rehabilitation of its displaced people, with Prof. Terhemba Shija, governorship candidate of the Benue NDC being the latest. Shija told The Mandate in an exclusive interview that the one billion Naira released to Governor Alia by Sen. Mrs. Remi Tinubu, wife of President Tinubu during her visit is as yet unaccounted for by Rev. Fr. Alia. Three other candidates in the state's governorship race - Michael Kaase Aondoakaa, SAN (PDP), Herman Iorwase Hembe (ADC) and Sebastine Hon, SAN, (SDP) have also consistently questioned Alia's handling of the trillions released to it for the same purpose.

Posted: 1month ago

Author: Editor in Chief

Current date: 18 October 2026