Oshiomhole-led committee hands over Edo museum project to Oba of Benin

The Special Committee on the Museum of West African Art, led by former Edo State Governor and Senator representing Edo North, Adams Oshiomhole, has concluded its investigation into the museum project and recommended that it be returned to the Oba of Benin for management. This announcement was made by Oshiomhole on Thursday, August 20, 2026, during a presentation of the committee's report to Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, in Benin City.

The six-member committee, which included Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, Lucky Imasuen, General Cecil Esekhaigbe (retired), Professor Roland Otaru, the Edo State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, and Barrister Iryn Omorogiuwa, spent six months examining the operations, ownership, and governance of the museum project. Oshiomhole argued that political administrations were temporary, while the Benin monarchy was a permanent institution, making the Oba of Benin the most suitable entity to manage the museum.

The committee's report recommended that the existing facility should not be demolished but rather retained and given a name that reflects its ownership. Oshiomhole proposed that the museum should be renamed the "Benin Royal Museum of African Art," a name change that would attract artefacts from across the globe. The former governor alleged that the Obaseki administration spent N3.8 billion on the project, using the name "Edo Museum of West Africa Art" (EMOWA) and then "Museum of West African Art" (MOWAA) before ultimately returning it to the Oba of Benin.

Oshiomhole also questioned claims by the MOWAA management that it received more than $18 million, suggesting that some of these claims did not correspond with the committee's findings. The committee's final recommendation was for another committee to be formed to prepare a white paper on the recommendations, and for this paper to be processed through the Ministry of Justice.