LABOUR Party (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 poll, Peter Obi, has challenged President Bola Tinubu to extend his planned visit to Benue State where hundreds of people have been killed in recent months by gunmen to Niger State that has lost a similar population to flooding.
While thanking Tinubu on Tuesday, June 17, for “finally choosing to visit the site of the brutal killings in Benue State.” Obi urged the president to visit the victims of the flood in Mokwa, Niger State, also located in North-Central geo-political zone where Benue is.
“Both Benue and Niger States have lost over 200 lives each due to recent tragedies. In Mokwa alone, more than 200 people were confirmed dead, and over 1,000 are still missing following the floods. These are not just statistics; they are the lives of Nigerian families torn apart and their communities destroyed.
“The distance from Abuja to these affected areas is not far. Abuja to Makurdi is about 282 km, and Abuja to Mokwa is about 287 km,” Obi said.
The ICIR reported that Obi expressed concern over Tinubu’s failure to visit the two states, contrasting the president’s action with the swift responses of leaders in countries like India and South Africa during similar crises.
Obi highlighted how India Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, promptly visited the lone survivor of the Air India plane crash late last week, while the Nigerian government has not made any attempt to visit victims of Niger and Benue states tragedies.
Recall that Tinubu, during the inauguration of the Greater Abuja Water Supply Network, condoled with the people of Benue State over the attack on the Yelwata community, reportedly resulting in the loss of over 200 lives.
A few hours later, the president announced that he would visit the state on Wednesday.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.