Asaba monarch begins multi-billion naira permanent palace
The Asagba of Asaba, Prof Epiphany Azinge (SAN), has assured the Asaba community in Delta State that the multi-billion permanent palace project would be ready in December.
The monarch gave the assurance at the groundbreaking ceremony held on Saturday at the palace site in Asaba, the state capital.
He said, “Today is indeed a special day in the history of our land. I am particularly delighted that we, the people of Asaba, together have been able to achieve this milestone in the developmental trajectory of our land.
“In the course of my journey to the throne of our forebears, I pencilled the building of the Asagba’s palace as one of my priorities.
“I predicated my promise on the premise that as President General of the Asaba Development Union, I had pursued this dream with missionary zeal, enthusiasm and commitment.
“It was during this period that I commissioned the architectural drawings of this palace and followed it up to its completion.”
The monarch said the drawing by an architect, Patrick Elikwu, gave impetus to the drive to build the palace.
“This made things easier for us to move faster and we are happy to be here to break grounds for this multibillion naira project, barely six months after my coronation as the 14th Asagba of Asaba.
“Permit me, at this juncture, to pay public tribute to our forebear who hitherto worked assiduously for the building of a palace for the Asagba of Asaba.
“Twice, concerted efforts were made, money donated, some structures put in place, but the paucity of funds and absence of clear-cut architectural design were major impediments in the pursuit of this objective.
“I want to thank and commend the good people of Asaba for queuing solidly behind me and grandly demonstrating their support and solidarity in a way and manner far beyond my expectations.
I am proud of our sons and daughters who tasked themselves and donated generously to this project,” the monarch said.
He said though it was not yet uhuru, he was optimistic that with collective efforts, the project would be completed in a record time.
“I have made it known to all and sundry that Asaba sons and daughters will support any great initiative once they believe in the integrity of the process.
“Today, I publicly proclaim and urge members of the building committee to make transparency and accountability their watchword.
“Let it be said that we will account for all naira contributed to this project,” he said.
The monarch noted that the money so far donated came from only Asaba sons and daughters, adding that it was important to show the people that they meant business.
“No doubt, we may not be able to carry this huge burden alone but we must demonstrate to would-be supporters that we mean business and we have successfully shown a marker of our commitment and resolve to drive this project to a positive conclusion.
“It is expected that this multipurpose complex, including pavilion, will be developed in segments. Hopefully, we may be able to complete one or two of the segments around December 2025,” he added.
Azinge commended the chairman and members of the palace building committee for their efforts and urged the community to brace up and write their names in the historic project.
He pleaded with friends, well-wishers, business moguls, government officials and public-spirited Nigerians to support the project.
