By Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja
The former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, has bemoaned the death of the Oba of Benin, His Majesty, Omo N’Oba N’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo Erediauwa, describing him as a quintessential leader, whose absence would be felt greatly by his people.
While also mourning his demise, another elder statesman, Chief Edwin Clark, said the late Oba was a trusted custodian of the culture and values of his people whose integrity is unequalled.
In a statement issued on Sunday by Bamaga Tukur’s Special Assistant on Media, Mr. Oliver Okpala, the former PDP chairman said the Oba left indelible and monumental legacies of outstanding proportion and dimension in preaching for peace and unity of Nigeria..
Tukur said: “I received with shock the news of the demise of my dear friend, associate and comrade in the struggle for the upliftment and unity of the Nigerian Nation.
The Omo n’Oba, the vacuum and gap your death has created in the Royal Kingdom in terms of promotion and preservation of our tradition and culture is so wide and irreplaceable.
“As an acclaimed beurocrat who reached the pinnacle of service to the Nation and retired as a federal permanent secretary and as a quintessential leader, you epitomized during your life time the tenets, of good leadership, undaunted integrity, outstanding credibility, honesty, social decorum, loyalty, faith and unquestionable traditional image as the Oba of Benin.
“I commiserate with the government and good people of Edo State and your immediate family over this sudden demise,” he said.
In his tribute, Chief Clark said the late Oba Erediauwa had maintained the integrity of the revered traditional institution of Edo people, as a trusted custodian of the values of one of the greatest kingdoms on earth.
He said that transition of the Oba is not only a loss to the Benin people but, also, to the old Midwest Region, indeed, the entire country.
