Edo assures resolution of museum ownership dispute

The Edo State government on Monday said the controversies surrounding the ownership of the Museum of West African Arts would soon be resolved.

He noted that the report of the presidential committee on the controversial project would soon be ready.

The Secretary to the State Government, Musa Ikhilo, stated this on Monday during the Summit, Exhibition and Fashion Show 2026 organised by the Edo State Tourism Agency in Benin City.

The SSG also noted that the administration of Governor Monday Okpebholo was committed to updating and implementing the state’s Tourism Master Plan.

Ikhilor said that in addition to implementing the master plan, all stakeholders must be involved to ensure that the tourism industry grows in the state.

“I have seen that master plan, and it is actually a wonderful job, I have to admit, and I want to encourage the Director General of the Tourism Agency to look at how to implement or even improve upon that master plan.

“I think everything is very slow now. We need to see how to revive it. Whatever challenge may exist with ownership of MOWAA itself, it need not stop our will or desire to harness the potential of the tourism master plan.

“When it comes to the MOWAA, we are continuously looking at how to resolve that. There is a presidential committee that is already sitting and looking at it, and very soon they will bring out a report that we believe will provide a final solution to the problem.”

In his remarks, Taiwo Akerele advocated for a daily practice of environmental sanitation.

He argued that the daily cleaning of the environment, and not the once-a-month practice, would make an everlasting impression on how clean the environment is in the mind of tourists.

He also suggested that the state government should hand over two major neighbourhoods to the agency, which it would develop with quality facilities for “an excellent visitor experience.”

In her keynote address, the Director General of the Tourism Agency, Lady Vivian Elabor, commended Okpebholo for his “unwavering support for tourism” and the economic diversification agenda for the state.

She urged investors and development partners to see the state as a land of opportunities and that the agency was ready for collaboration and to create an enabling environment for them.