The 2023 presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Adewole Adebayo, has criticised President Bola Tinubu for not visiting Yelwata town in Benue State, where scores of residents were killed by suspected herdsmen.
Adebayo stated this on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme on Friday.
Tinubu had visited Benue on Wednesday to sympathise with the people of the state over the killings, but cited rain, flood, and bad roads as reasons for not visiting Yelwata.
“I aborted my visit to Yelwata town because of the rain, flood and bad roads,” Tinubu had said during his visit to Makurdi, the state capital.
Adebayo described Tinubu’s excuse as untenable, saying the president should have made sure to visit Yelwata regardless of the challenges.
“He cannot say as commander-in-chief, there is a part of the country that is unreachable by you. People are living there,” Adebayo said.
He also criticised the president’s visit to Makurdi, saying it was politicized and lacked empathy.
Adebayo noted that the president’s demeanor during the visit was not somber enough, likening it to a political rally rather than a visit to a place of mourning.
He emphasised that as the commander-in-chief, Tinubu should have been more controlled in his language and actions.
He said, “Going to a place of mourning that even during the Nigerian civil war, it would be newsworthy if there were 200 lives lost at one time.
“So, such a place is a somber occasion and he is in charge of all the people who followed him there.
“But what do you get there? It was like another political rally. That sombreness was not there.
“The president should have gone there as a chief mourner and his language should have been somber and his language should have been better controlled.”
The attack in Yelwata resulted in scores of deaths and over 3,000 displacements, with the government putting the death toll at 59, while civil rights groups claimed it was around 200.
The killings have sparked national outrage and international condemnation, including from Pope Leo XIV.
