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From Tony Osauzo and Ighomuaye Lucky, Benin
The Oba of Benin, Ewuare II, has taken a swipe at the political class who he accused of always abandoning the electorate after elections.
The Oba stated this when the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, paid him a courtesy visit to his palace in Benin City.
The Vice President was in Edo State to meet with delegates of the All Progressives Congress (APC), ahead of the party’s presidential primary scheduled for the end of May this year.
“Like the businessman will say customers are kings, in the election, the electorate are supposed to be kings but that is not what we have in Nigeria. We have leaders who get to office and enrich themselves and forget the electorate whereas, without the electorate, nobody can occupy any political office, especially elected office. Some of these politicians use all kinds of tactics to get the votes of the electorate and at the end of the day, they abandon the electorate.
“I want to appeal to the politicians to make this country great because Nigeria is blessed with great human and natural resources but Nigeria is still in a bad state.
“We want to be able to state in Nigeria and enjoy the good things of life not in Dubai or in the US, now we are even running to Ghana, we should change all these, Nigeria should be a destination point”, the Benin monarch added.
He said he had always been an admirer of the Vice President’s eloquence and commended him for his respect for culture and tradition.
Besides, he commended the federal government under President Muhamadu Buhari for the role it is playing to ensure that stolen artefacts were returned to their original owners.
Speaking earlier, the Vice President told the Oba that President Muhammadu Buhari has exposed him enough to critical decisions and programmes about Nigeria which has equipped him with the capacity to lead the country.
“I am here today on a political visit but for obvious reasons I ensured that I must start from the palace. I am here to consult with party members who are delegates in our forthcoming delegates’ convention.
“On April 11th, I formally declared to vie for the presidency of this country. I have been exposed to many things in government. I commend the president who has been generous to ensure that I participate in every policy decision making of the government. I have exposure at the highest level of government and the capacity to govern the country. I started teaching at the age of 24 and I have served in several capacities, and I assure you that I will do the very best I can for the country”, Prof. Osinbajo stated.
The Vice President later had a closed-door meeting with APC leadership and delegates.
