- The Oba of Benin, His Royal Majesty Oba Ewuare II, corrected Labour Party candidate Olumide Akpata’s claim of being a ‘child of the Palace’
- The Oba dismissed Akpata’s assertions after verifying that Akpata had no direct or distant links to the Palace
- A member of his entourage expressed disappointment with the Oba’s public reprimand
Edo state – The Oba of Benin, His Royal Majesty Oba Ewuare II, has corrected Labour Party candidate Olumide Akpata’s claims of being a ‘child of the Palace’.
The incident occurred when Akpata, along with former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, visited the revered Oba at his palace in Benin City.
During the meeting, Akpata repeatedly referred to himself as a “son of the Palace” in both English and the local dialect.
However, the Oba swiftly dismissed these assertions, revealing that he had asked one of his chiefs to verify Akpata’s claims and found that the candidate had no direct or distant links to the Palace, as reported by The Nation.
The Oba did acknowledge that the LP gubernatorial candidate is better known as a ‘son of the soil’.
He said:
“You are a hardworking son of the soil, but claiming to be a child of the Palace is inaccurate. None of my children are running for office or involved in politics.
“I need to clarify this for the public and the media.”
In response to the Oba’s correction, Akpata acknowledged that he may not be a child of the Palace but affirmed that he is a child of the kingdom.
A member of Akpata’s entourage later expressed disappointment with the Oba’s public reprimand, stating:
“We are not pleased with the way our candidate was rebuked by the Oba for claiming to be a son of the Palace. In my view, every Benin or Edo individual is a son of the Palace, as we all originate from the same source.”
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