By Our Correspondent
2023 Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, LP; His Excellency, Mr Peter Obi has clarified that no disrespect was intended in his goodwill message to the newly crowned Olubadan of Ibadan; His Royal Majesty, Oba Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja.
Obi’s clarification came after backlash mostly from social media users who viewed his appellation as disrespectful to the revered Yoruba traditional stool.
But in his swift reaction tagged “Certainly, no disrespect intended in my goodwill Message to His Royal Majesty”, the former Anambra state governor said his choice of ‘my dear brother’ is his usual way he addressed individuals especially closed to him and for whom he had tremendous respect.
“I felicitated with my dear elder brother, the newly crowned, His Royal Majesty, Oba Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja. I have read the concerns of those aggrieved by what they considered improper addressing”, Obi noted.
He continued: “I respect protocol and authority, and I try, as much as possible, to adhere to them. However, those who follow me would have noticed that I often prefer to use the expression “my dear elder brother” when addressing individuals especially close to me and for whom I have tremendous respect. I always refer to His Royal Majesty Igwe Alfred Achebe, Obi of Onitsha, as my very dear elder brother in the same affectionate manner.
In matters of wrongdoing, motive is important. I assure all that my words were borne out of untrammelled goodwill”.
