President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has commiserated with the government and people of Edo State over the passage of the Oba of Benin, Omo n’Oba n’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba Erediauwa. “We have lost a People’s monarch,” he lamented.

In a statement by the Special Adviser, Media & Publicity to the President of the Senate, Yusuph Olaniyonu, Saraki described the late Oba as a just, fair-minded, courageous, benevolent and a people’s monarch who lived his entire life in the service of his people as a prince and king while also serving the nation as a bureaucrat and diplomat of high repute.

The Senate President who received the news of Oba Erediauwa’s transition with great shock said, “a glorious chapter in the annals of the Benin Kingdom has just come to a close. My grief stricken heart however goes out to the immediate family of the Oba, the Benin Traditional Council, the people and Government of Edo State, over the glorious but yet sad exit of the Omo n’Oba n’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba Erediauwa – our highly revered King.

“He was a fearless and pious monarch – attributes that distinguished him among other monarchs in the country. As we mourn the departure of our highly revered and benevolent patriarch, I can only enjoin his immediate family and the people of Edo State to take solace in the long, peaceful, enigmatic life of the departed which was full of exemplary service to his subjects and the entire country,” he said.

He prayed that Almighty God will grant Omo n’Oba n’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba Erediauwa of Benin eternal welcome and bliss in the midst of his ancestors and make his successor-designate a greater king and worthy successor who will positively advance the commendable legacies of progress and development exemplified by Oba Erediauwa.

The Senate President said, the country will surely miss the late Oba of Benin Kingdom because he was an embodiment of peace, culture and traditions of the Benin Kingdom in particular, Edo State and Nigeria in general throughout the time of his reign.

•Photo shows late Oba Erediauwa of Benin.

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