Oba of Benin’s son resigns from Oshiomhole’s govt, alleges threat to life

BENIN — ANOTHER Prince of the Benin royal family, Prince Ekpen Erediauwa, has resigned his appointment as Executive Director (Government House) barely 24 hours after he alleged that Governor Adams Oshiomhole harassed and threatened his life over a parcel of land he acquired from the Federal Government some years ago. Meanwhile, the Edo State Government, yesterday, denied the allegation. Prince Erediauwa said he will also institute a legal action against the governor over the alleged harassment and threat to his life. This is coming on the heels of the recent demolition of official residences of some staff of the University of Benin by the governor, as the dust raised by that action is yet to settle. According to Prince Erediauwa, “There is a parcel of land at Okoro-Otun Avenue, GRA Benin. It is a Federal Government property based on investigations I conducted a few years ago. I made some contacts and acquired the land. “Last week, the governor invited me and asked about the property, I said yes, I owned it and that some people were working on the land and I stopped them. I told him that the land belongs to me, and he asked me to stay away from the land. “He said if I don’t stay away from the land, he would arrest me. He said if I send anybody there, the person will be physically manhandled. My lawyers are looking into the matter.” The state Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr Louis Odion, in his statement on the issue, said: “Our attention has been drawn to a wild allegation made by Ekpen Erediauwa that Governor Oshiomhole, was after his life over a parcel of land. “This is nothing but an amateurish attempt at blackmail. The truth is that the young man had taken to a career of land speculation, engaging armed thugs to harass hapless developers all over town. He was enjoined to desist from these nefarious activities. “It would have made sense if the young man had provided proof of ownership of the land he is laying claims to. “Truly, these are political times when idle hands would push anything for bread and butter. I think it is quite instructive that the young man permitted himself the liberty to tell these funny lies yesterday in company of Edo PDP Chairman, Mr. Daniel Orbih.” Meanwhile, the Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has condemned what it called the forced acquisition of Prince Erediauwa’s land by the governor and described the action as an abomination in Benin Kingdom. State chairman of the party, Chief Orbih, who addressed newsmen on the matter, asked commissioners from Edo South to resign their appointments if within seven days the governor fails to handover the disputed land to Prince Erediauwa.