Uncertainty Over MOWAA As Okpebholo Cancels Land Title, To Rebuild Demolished Central Hospital

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As the controversy over the Museum of West African Art (MOWAA) in Benin City, Edo State, rages, Governor Monday Okpebholo on Monday bared his fangs, revoking the Right of Occupancy (R.O.O.) earlier granted to the museum’s management by the immediate past governor of the state, Godwin Obaseki.

The governor’s revocation order, contained in a personally signed statement and dated October 21, 2025, was made public on Monday November 10, 2025, in Benin City, the state capital.

Governor Okpebholo claimed the revocation was done “in the overriding public interest,” citing the authority vested in him by Sections 28 and 38 of the Land Use Decree No. 6 of 1978 (now the Land Use Act).

Speaking at an interactive session with journalists heralding the first anniversary of Governor Okpebholo on November 12, 2025, Prince Kassim Afegbua, commissioner for information and strategy, disclosed that the state government, under Obaseki invested N3 billion in EMOWAA without having any stake in it, while the management of the museum were discovered to have taken more land than they were given.

Therefore, revoking the land title in his official statement titled, “Land Use Decree 1978: Revocation of Statutory Rights of Occupancy Pursuant to Sections 28 and 38,” Governor Okpebholo declared that the land previously allocated to the Edo Museum of West African Art Trust (EMOWAA) Ltd/GTE has been reclaimed by the state and would be restored to its original use as the Benin Central Hospital, a historic medical institution that has served the city for over a century.

The statement read: “Notice is hereby given that in exercise of the power conferred upon me by Section (28) 1 and 38 of the Land Use Decree No. 6 of 1978 and by virtue of all other laws enabling me on that behalf, I, Sen. Monday Okpebholo, Executive Governor of Edo State of Nigeria, hereby revoke the Statutory Rights of Occupancy granted to Edo Museum Of West African Art Trust (EMOWAA) Ltd/GTE for overriding public interest.

“All that property known and referred to as digital Plot: No 61977, ZONE HI / A12 / OGBOKA, Benin City in Oredo Local Government Area Of Edo State measuring an area of approximately 6.210 hectares. The boundaries of which are described in detailed survey at the back of the Certificate of Occupancy dated 28th day of November 2022, which is registered as No. 169 at Page 3 in Volume 45 now kept in EDOGIS Lands Registry at Benin City, Edo State in favour of EDO MUSEUM OF WEST AFRICA ART TRUST (EMOWAA) LTD/GTE”.

Observers of unfolding drama say the fate that had befallen EMOWAA was expected as it had been trailed by controversy since inception when Obaseki demolished the Central Hospital to accommodate a museum, sparking outrage and series of protests.

The matter became even more vexatious when Obaseki jettisoned the idea of a Benin Royal Museum for a private museum thus pitching him against the palace of the Oba of Benin on the one hand and the state government on the other hand.

Tensions aggravated when the management of EMOWAA announced the official opening of the facility to the public slated for November 11, 2025.

The event was preceded by Sunday’s preview week which was to dovetail into the main event but was aborted by thugs who claimed the museum belonged to the Oba of Benin.

When the EU Ambassador to Nigeria Mr. Gautier Mignot, and the German Ambassador, Dr. Annett Günther, paid him a courtesy call at the Government House, the Governor faulted what he described as a “gross lack of transparency” by the immediate-past administration in handling the project.

He explained to his visitors that “The controversy surrounding MOWAA stems from the lack of openness by the previous government”, stating that “It is curious how the project evolved from the Benin Royal Museum to the Edo Museum of West African Art (EMOWAA), and now to the Museum of West African Art (MOWAA), without clarity or consultation with our revered traditional institution.”

During a courtesy visit to him, Oba Ewuare II, accused Obaseki of diverting donor funds and altering the original plan for the Benin Royal Museum without the palace’s consent.

The Oba had described the former governor’s actions as a betrayal of trust, alleging that the former administration sought to “mortgage” the rights of the Benin people over their ancestral artefacts through the establishment of the Legacy Restoration Trust—a private entity said to have taken control of the museum project.