The Oba of Benin, HRM Ewuare II, has blamed the past administration in Edo State for deliberately starving the palace of its statutory funds, saying the move was intended to undermine the palace, but God and the ancestors did not allow them to prevail.

The monarch spoke during a parley with members of the Edo State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists in his palace in Benin.

Ewuare II noted that initially, the government reduced the funds allocated to the palace before eventually halting the action, which lasted for seven months.

The monarch stated that during that period, the palace was responsible for paying the palace staff and clearing the weeds around its surroundings.

He said slashing and putting an end to the funds going to the palace was meant to undermine it, adding that that was not the first time efforts have been made to undermine the palace.

The royal father recalled how his grandfather helped a military administration in the past because of how close he was with the military officer, but in the end, the military personnel ordered that a storey building be erected on a sacred ground opposite the palace, to spite it.

He, however, vowed that all the sacred grounds hitherto taken over would be reclaimed.

The monarch commended the present administration, led by Governor Monday Okpebholo, for restoring the full entitlement to the palace and displaying a high sense of respect for the traditional institution. He urged residents in the state to cooperate with the present administration, enabling him to deliver on his campaign promises.

The monarch also commended the federal government for its role in the return of the looted Benin artefacts.

Earlier, Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Edo State Council, Dr. Festus Alenkhe, commended the monarch for his fatherly role to journalists in the state. He promised to work with the palace to ensure that news from the palace is adequately reported and not distorted.