A group of elders in Edo State has strongly condemned what they called “unwarranted barrage of insults and abuses” being directed at the Oba of Benin, His Royal Majesty Oba Ewuare II, by supporters of the Labour Party and its gubernatorial candidate, Olumide Akpata.
The elders, who operate under the umbrella of the Edo Socio-Cultural Advancement and Good Governance Initiative, expressed shock and disappointment at what they described as a “childish, unwarranted and unacceptable behavior” of some Labour Party supporters across various social media platforms.
Recall that the 2023 presidential candidate of LP, Peter Obi and Akpata on Saturday paid a courtesy visit to the Oba’s palace shortly after inaugurating the party’s campaign office ahead of the September 21 governorship election.
During the visit, Akpata while seeking the support of the traditional ruler, repeatedly referred to himself as a “son of the palace” in both English and the local dialect.
But Oba Ewuare II later countered the claim.
According to a video clip making the rounds, the Oba swiftly dismissed his assertion, 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.
The development did not go down well with some of the LP guber candidate’s supporters, with some of them verbally attacking the Oba on various social media channels.
However, in a press statement made available to DAILY POST on Tuesday, spokesman of the Elders’ group, Comrade Melvin Irabor, said the Oba was not out of place in correcting Akpata’s claim to be the “son of the palace.”
“Our Oba was not out of place in correcting the erroneous remarks and insinuations by the Labour Party candidate, Barr. Olumide Akpata, for claiming to be the ‘Son of the Palace’,” Irabor said.
