Peter Obi, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, has reacted to President Bola Tinubu's decision to visit Benue State on Wednesday following the gruesome killings of over 200 people last weekend.
While commissioning The Greater Abuja Water Supply Network on Monday, the President sympathised with the government and the people of Benue State.
According to a statement by his spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, the President has already rescheduled his official visit to Kaduna State to assess firsthand the recurring crises that claimed numerous lives and caused significant destruction in Benue.
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Reacting to the development in a statement, Obi, who had earlier criticised Tinubu's leadership style, said it was refreshing for Nigerians to learn that the President has "finally decided to visit the scene of the brutal killings in Benue State."
While thanking the President for his decision, Obi asked him also to visit Niger State, where floods claimed many lives.
"It was refreshing news on Monday to a bewildered nation learning that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has finally decided to visit the scene of the brutal killings in Benue State. For this I thank him even as I make further request that similar gesture should be extended to Niger state that lost more number of human lives in a natural disaster, flood recently," the LP leader said.
The opposition leader maintained that the presence of the President in these 'devastated and grieving communities' will be very reassuring and uplifting.
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, Obi stated.
He advised the President to let his visit to Mokwa in Niger State send a strong message that all Nigerian lives matter and that no community, no matter how rural, is forgotten.
Obi also urged President Tinubu to step up security across the country, especially in disaster-prone areas.
