The Oba of Benin, His Royal Majesty Oba Ewuare II, has reprimanded the Labour Party (LP) gubernatorial candidate in Edo State, Olumide Akpata, over his claims of being a son of the palace.
The incident happened on Saturday when the LP presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, accompanied Akpata to the palace to meet with the Oba, ahead of the state governorship election.
While speaking at the meeting, Akpata repeatedly referred to himself as a son of the palace in English and the local dialect.
However, during his address, the Oba swiftly dismissed Akpata’s assertions, stating that he had asked one of his chiefs to verify the claims of the LP’s candidate, only to find that he had no direct or distant links to the palace.
The Oba pointed out that the LP Guber candidate is better known as an industrious ‘son of the soil’ and not ‘a son of the palace’.
He 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.”
In his response to the Oba’s correction, Akpata said that while he might not be a child of the palace, he is a child of the kingdom.
Also reacting to the incident, a member of Akpata’s entourage expressed disappointment with the Oba’s public rebuke, saying, “We are not really happy with the manner in which 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.”
