Oba of Benin warns Akpata to stop parading self as son of palace

The Oba of Benin, His Royal Majesty, Oba Ewuare II, warned the Labour Party’s candidate for the forthcoming Edo state gubernatorial election, Olumide Akpata to stop parading himself as the “child of the palace.”

The monarch made the statement when Akpata, accompanied by former presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, met him in 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 the assertions, stating that he had asked one of his chiefs to verify Akpata’s claims, only to find that the candidate had no direct or distant links to the palace. 

“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 remarked.

The Oba’s unequivocal disavowal of Akpata’s self-proclaimed status as a “child of the palace” appeared to visibly upset the Labour Party candidate.

Akpata retorted that while he might not be a child of the palace, he was undeniably a 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.”

“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. 

“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.”