You're not the son of the Palace, Oba of Benin tells LP candidate

Eric  Patrick

The Oba of Benin, His Royal Majesty Ewuare II, has made it clear to the Labour Party governorship candidate in Edo, Olumide Akpata, that he does not have the status of being a "child of the Palace."

This statement was made in response to Akpata's claim of being one of the sons of the Palace.

The Oba revealed this information during Akpata's visit to his Palace in Benin City, accompanied by the former presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi.

Throughout the meeting, Akpata constantly identified himself as a "son of the Palace" in both English and the local dialect.

Despite the claim made by Akpata, the Oba quickly rejected it and explained that he had tasked one of his chiefs with confirming the candidate's connections to the Palace. After investigation, it was discovered that Akpata had no familial ties to the Oba whatsoever.

The Oba said, "You are an industrious son of the soil, but to say you are a child of the Palace...I am not aware that any of my children is contesting or is a politician. So I need to make that clarification for the sake of the public and the fourth estate of the realm."

The Oba's clear rejection of Akpata's claim to be a "child of the Palace" seemed to greatly bother the Labour Party candidate.

In response, Akpata insisted that even if he wasn't directly connected to the Palace, he was still a proud child of the kingdom.

A member of Akpata's entourage later expressed disappointment with the Oba's public rebuke, stating that the correction should have been made privately instead of in the presence of the press. However, the Labour Party member acknowledged that as the Oba, "he can't be wrong."

Following the Oba's public dismissal of Akpata's claim, a member of Akpata's group expressed displeasure, suggesting that the correction should have been handled privately rather than in the presence of the press.

"We are not happy with how our candidate was rebuked by the Oba for claiming to be the son of the palace.

"In my opinion, any Benin or Edo person is a son of the palace, as we all came from the same source. He should have rebuked him in private and not in the full glare of the press and our guest. But he is our Oba, and he can't be wrong."