Ad hoc committees of the Edo State House of Assembly on the Museum of West African Art (MOWAA) and the Radisson Blu Hotel have asked the governor of Edo State, Monday Okpebholo, to take over the two projects.
The committees were set up by the Assembly to investigate the ownership structure of the projects, which were initiated during the administration of former governor Godwin Obaseki but have since generated controversy.
The Okpebholo administration had repeatedly stated that there was no handover note from Obaseki that clearly explained the ownership status of the projects.
On Tuesday, the chairmen of the committees on MOWAA and Radisson Blu Hotel, Addeh Isibor and Ibhamawu Aigbokhan, respectively, made public the findings of their investigations.
Presenting the report on MOWAA, Isibor said the committee discovered discrepancies between claims by the museum’s management that it raised N37 billion and the figures contained in the organisation’s audited financial statements.
He said the committee recommended that the governor take possession of the entire premises where the museum was built, noting that the Edo State Government funded the project.
The committee also stated that the property remained that of the Central Hospital because the land allocation had never been revoked.
According to him, the committee recommended:
“That the Edo State Government should immediately take all steps to put the property to good use in the best and overriding public interest of the people.”
On the Radisson Blu Hotel, Aigbokhan said the committee recommended that the state government assume full control of the facility, noting that the government did not receive any payment for the hotel.
He explained that the title to the property was never transferred from the Edo State Government to the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) or the Hospitality Investment and Management Company (HIMC).
Aigbokhan said the committee recommended:
“The Edo State Government should contract competent hands to complete the renovation of the hotel and take all steps to put the hotel to use for the benefit of the good people of Edo State, in particular, and the world, in general.
“The Edo State Government should immediately revoke the fraudulent Certificate of Occupancy to the property issued in the name of Hospitality Investment and Management Company Limited and revert same to the Edo State Government that purchased the property.
“That the Edo State Government initiate legal action and work with relevant anti-graft agencies to retrieve the balance of the N17.5 billion proceeds still in the possession of the Escrow Agents, Meristem Trustees Limited and Emerging Africa Trustees Limited.”
The committee chairmen, however, said their investigation was not intended to victimise Obaseki.
They added that the former governor did not inform the Assembly when plans were made to transfer ownership of the Radisson Blu Hotel to HIMC, even though the Assembly had earlier approved N2 billion for the purchase of the property.
