THE Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse III, has denied endorsing the 2023 presidential bid of a former Lagos State governor, Ahmed Bola Tinubu.
This was contained in a statement by the spokesperson of the Olu’s palace, Oriiz U. Onuwaje, on Saturday, April 16, 2023.
The rebuttal came amid reports that the traditional ruler endorsed Tinubu when delegations of the South West Agenda for Asiwaju and Delta State for Bola Ahmed Tinubu visited him at his palace on Thursday.
The palace said that the monarch’s words during the visit were deliberately taken out of context.
It maintained that the Olu of Warri, as a father to all, has no political affiliations and has no preferred candidates at any level ahead of the 2023 polls.
The statement read, “On the instructions of His Majesty Ogiame Atuwatse III, the Olu of Warri, we firmly rebut the statement claiming Ogiame’s endorsement of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and restates that Ogiame has no political affiliation or preferred political candidate for any office in the forthcoming 2023 elections, be it at the regional, sub-national or national level.
“Ogiame is a father figure to all and has no personal favourite or special interests in any candidate or political party vying for any office in the forthcoming elections one way or another and will, therefore, not endorse or discredit any candidate to the detriment or advantage of others.”
The statement maintained that the headlines credited to Ogiame in the referenced quotes had been taken out of context and reworked to suit a specific narrative.
“They cannot be further from the truth. For an unclear motive, the writer contravenes the Palace’s avowed role of non-partisanship.
“The Ogiame is a father figure to all who have a genuine interest in advancing the course of development of our nation. Ogiame is duty-bound to receive and proffer advice and blessings to all those who seek his audience and counsel.
“Therefore, His Majesty, Ogiame Atuwatse III, the Olu of Warri, is using this medium to make this important clarification for the avoidance of doubt, and is further requesting that in the future, any queries and clarifications on Palace communications should be directed to the Palace media office,” the statement said.
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