MAKURDI, Nigeria — Festus Keyamo, Nigeria’s minister of aviation and aerospace development, has condemned the obstruction of Peter Obi’s convoy in Benue State.
He said political candidates must be free to travel and attend lawful engagements.
Protesters stopped the convoy on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, as Obi, the Nigeria Democratic Congress presidential candidate, travelled from the airport towards Makurdi for a planned visit.
Keyamo said preventing a presidential candidate from reaching an engagement was unacceptable, regardless of the identity or political affiliation of those responsible.
“That is still not acceptable; everyone should be allowed to move about freely and play their politics without such crude interference,” Keyamo said in comments reported by The Guardian.
The minister said the incident should be condemned whether it arose from divisions within the N.D.C., as the Benue State Government has suggested, or was organised by the governing All Progressives Congress or another political rival.
He also accused sections of the Nigerian news media of applying different standards to political disruptions depending on the party involved.
Democratic protections, he said, should be extended equally to all candidates.
Videos Show Crowd Blocking Road
Footage shared by Esther Umoh, Obi’s photographer, showed people carrying sticks on Gboko Road and pursuing vehicles as the convoy attempted to continue its journey.
Umoh said the disruption began shortly after Obi and his team landed in Benue.
She said the crowd had blocked the route from the airport into town and was refusing to allow the candidate to reach the people he intended to visit.
“This is not acceptable. We should be able to do politics without going this low,” Umoh said.
The Benue State Government has said the protest may have resulted from internal disagreements within the N.D.C.
It also maintained that Obi’s proposed visit to Yelwata, a community that had suffered deadly attacks, was politically motivated.
Keyamo said objections to the purpose of the visit did not justify restricting Obi’s movement.
An Earlier Dispute Over Access
The confrontation followed an earlier disagreement between Obi and the administration of Governor Hyacinth Alia over access to communities in Benue.
In April 2025, the state government issued an advisory against visits by prominent individuals that could attract public or political gatherings without prior authorisation.
The notice effectively halted a humanitarian trip Obi had planned to internally displaced persons’ camps and a nursing school in Gboko.
The government said written approval from the Benue State Emergency Management Agency was required before visiting displacement camps.
It also said it could not guarantee the safety of visitors who entered the state without completing the approval process.
Obi said at the time that he had informed security agencies and members of the governor’s staff about his itinerary.
He said repeated efforts to speak with Alia were unsuccessful, although the governor’s aide-de-camp had promised that Alia would return his call.
Obi had been travelling from Plateau State, where he donated ₦7.5 million and met displaced children in Bokkos.
He abandoned the Benue trip and returned to Abuja after receiving the government’s advisory.
The latest blockade occurred as political parties increased campaign-related activities ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections.
Keyamo said political competition should proceed without attempts to prevent candidates from travelling or meeting members of the public.
