The Palace of the Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse III, has described as false a report which claimed the monarch endorsed a presidential aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

A statement by the Director of Palace Administration, Chief Clement Maleghemi, said the monarch is a father to all, adding that he is not into partisan politics.

“The attention of the palace of His Majesty, Ogiame Atuwatse III, the Olu of Warri has been drawn to the false publication in Independent newspaper and social media and the palace wishes to firmly rebut the statement claiming Ogiame’s endorsement of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and restates that Ogiame has no political affiliation or preferred candidate for any office in the forthcoming 2023 elections be it regional, sub-regional or national level,” the statement said.

“His Majesty is a father to all and has no personal favorite or special interest in any candidate or political party vying for any office in the forthcoming elections one way or the other or discredit any candidate to the detriment or advantage of others.

“Therefore, the palace is using this medium to make this important clarification for the avoidance of doubt and further request that in the future any queries or clarifications on communications should be directed to the Palace media office.”