Oba of Benin, His Royal Majesty, Oba Ewuare II, may have corrected the Labour Party governorship candidate, Olumide Akpata, with his trending historical claim that he is a ‘child of the Palace’.
The correction was done when Akpata, along with Peter Obi, the former Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 general elections visited the revered Benin monarch in his palace in Benin City.
During the meeting, it was reliably gathered that, Akpata still boastfully referred to himself as a “son of the Palace” both in English and the local dialect.
The monarch, in a swift response, dismissed the claim, revealing that he had asked one of his chiefs to verify Akpata’s claims and found that the candidate had no direct or remote links with the Palace, as stated by him and recently 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.
However, a member of Akpata’s entourage later expressed displeasure with the Oba’s public reprimand, saying :
“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.”
