By SIMON EBEGBULEM

BENIN CITY- THE Benin monarch, Oba Erediauwa has backed Governor Adams Oshiomhole for a second term in office, saying that his achievements so far in office has changed the face of the state.

The revered monarch who gave the endorsement when Governor Oshiomhole led the newly elected House of Assembly candidates of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN,  in the state, to him on a ‘Thank You’ visit after their victory at the election held last weekend urged elected members to back Oshiomhole in 2012 when he will be seeking a second term as Governor of the state.

The incumbent senator representing Edo South and Senator elect, Senator Ehigie Uzamere, who in the entourage of the Governor, also got the commendation of the Oba.

According to the monarch, who addressed Oshiomhole, “they must all work together to bring you in again in 2012. You have done very well so far, particularly we are very impressed with what you are doing in Benin City”.

Oshiomhole who spoke earlier, thanked the royal father for his prayers for the ACN candidates which helped to ensure their victory at the polls.

He said: “Your majesty, we have come today to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your prayers which God has answered, and these prayers are in two parts, your majesty. A few months ago, we came to present to you our candidates for various elections into the national assembly, we asked for your prayers and we also on that occasion after the prayers had been said, you made one sentence, your majesty said the prayers have been answered.

“Today sir, we felt that before they go start celebrating the victory, we must first bring them to you to thank you and to ask for your blessings for them, and for prayers to ensure that as they go to Abuja to represent us, they will reflect the interest of your royal majesty, the interest of this palace and the interest of Edo South so that we will not have the kind of embarrassing situation that we had in the past where a member of the House of Representatives from Benin land passed a motion where the royal majesty had to plead publicly for the President to disregard.

“The second reason we are thanking your Majesty is that you did pray that there will be peace in the land even at a time that many of us, myself inclusive, were worried about the reports we were getting about people buying arms, recruiting thugs, even importing thugs from neighbouring states to ensure that they disrupt the election, your Royal Majesty prayed, and I know that few days before the election, a delegation of Chiefs came to offer prayers for peace at the instance of your royal majesty.

“Today sir, I think for the first time since 1999, we had elections in this state, no incident of anybody being shot, nobody is hospitalised and indeed nobody was brutalised across the land. Indeed it shows that your majesty’s prayers were very well answered. So for this and several more, we have come to thank you and place on record our gratitude, our appreciation for being a father to all of us.”