Crown Prince of Benin Kingdom, Eheneden Erediauwa, has described the transition of the Oba of Benin, Oba Erediauwa as emotional for him, saying he was very close to his late father.

Speaking in his Uselu Palace at a condolence visit to him by Governor Adams Oshiomhole, the Crown Prince said he is probably the “first Crown Prince in the history of Benin Kingdom that has been so close to his father.”

The Crown Prince, who is also the Edaiken n’Uselu, thanked the governor for the condolence. “It’s really an emotional moment for me and everybody virtually knows how close I was to my father,’ he said.

He reiterated that “The elders here know how close I was to my father, and I am probably known as the first Crown Prince in the history of Benin Kingdom that has been so close to his father.”

Oshiomhole, in commiserating with him said, “We are all shattered by this very sad news. But in all, we know that kings will come, kings will transit, but our joy even in the midst of this grief is that we are fortunate, that in spite of the vacuum left by the departure, we have in your Royal Highness a true royal Crown Prince.”

The governor described him as one that has “already gone through all the rigours of life, and sufficiently travelled and held sensitive diplomatic positions in most strategic countries.”

“For people like me, who have had the very rare privilege of interacting very closely with your Royal Highness over the years, I believe that His Royal Majesty has prepared a Crown Prince that, as tradition prescribes, has what it takes to fill the big royal shoes that His Majesty left behind,” he said.

According to Oshiomhole, “We are all privileged part of the extended family, and the state government will stand by your Royal Highness, stand by the royal family, and do what the great people of our great state will expect us to do at this hour.

The governor said: “Edo is not an artificial creation. We are not named after a river or after an event. It’s an ethnic category, and His Royal Majesty is the father, the paramount ruler of all Edo sons and daughters.”

He expressed joy that it shall remain so forever and ever adding: “May our ancestors stand by you at this hour and guide us through all the processes.”