Edo State Governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo, has revoked the Right of Occupancy earlier granted to the Museum of West African Art (MOWAA) management by the administration of former Governor Godwin Obaseki.
The governor’s directive, personally signed and dated October 21, 2025, was made public on Monday in Benin City. According to the statement, the revocation was carried out “in the overriding public interest,” in line with Sections 28 and 38 of the Land Use Decree No. 6 of 1978 (now the Land Use Act).
In the official notice titled “Land Use Decree 1978: Revocation of Statutory Rights of Occupancy Pursuant to Sections 28 and 38,” Governor Okpebholo announced that the land previously allocated to the Edo Museum of West African Art Trust Ltd/GTE has been reclaimed by the state and will be restored to its original purpose — the Benin Central Hospital — a medical institution that had served the people of Benin for over a century.
The statement read in part:
“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.”
Governor Okpebholo clarified that the affected property, identified as Digital Plot No. 61977, Zone HI/A12/Ogboka, Benin City, in Oredo Local Government Area, covers approximately 6.210 hectares. The site was formerly occupied by the historic Benin Central Hospital, which was controversially demolished under the previous administration to make way for the museum project.
He added that details of the land’s boundaries are contained in the survey plan attached to the Certificate of Occupancy dated November 28, 2022, registered as No. 169 at page 3 in Volume 45, and now kept in the EDOGIS Land Registry, Benin City.
The revocation marks a major policy reversal of Obaseki’s decision, which drew public outrage and condemnation from the Benin Royal Palace and heritage advocates. Many criticized the demolition of the Central Hospital and accused the former administration of sidelining traditional authorities in decisions concerning the project.
Governor Okpebholo’s action follows renewed controversy surrounding MOWAA after the Oba of Benin, His Royal Majesty Omo N’Oba N’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba Ewuare II, accused Obaseki of diverting donor funds and altering the original vision for the Benin Royal Museum without the palace’s consent.
The Oba had described Obaseki’s move 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 creation of the Legacy Restoration Trust, a private entity said to have taken control of the museum project.
Governor Okpebholo’s revocation is widely seen as a move to correct what many Edo indigenes have described as a historical wrong and to realign the state’s heritage projects with the cultural and ancestral values of the Benin Kingdom.