Edo State Governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo has restored the full statutory rights of the Benin Monarch, Oba Ewuare II.
He dismantled the traditional councils in Edo South set up by the previous government and affirmed the Federal Government’s Gazette recognizing the Oba’s ownership of the Benin artefacts returned from abroad, looted during the 1897 Benin massacre.
Additionally, the state government has withdrawn the letter that revoked the concession of the Oba Akenzua II Cultural Centre, which had been repurposed as a motor park by the former administration. This decision was detailed in a statement released by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Fred Itua, on Sunday.
The statement further outlined that the Okpebholo administration is committed to restoring the Oba Akenzua Centre to its original purpose.
It also stated that the new traditional councils in Edo South, created by the last administration, have been abolished. As a result, the financial entitlements of the Benin Traditional Council have been restored, and the status quo prior to the creation of the abolished councils is to be maintained.
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The administration has also expressed its support for the state’s original plan to build the Benin Royal Museum to house the returned artefacts, distancing itself from the Museum of West African Art, MOWA, which had been proposed by the previous administration to house the artefacts before the federal intervention.
The Federal Government’s Gazette, issued under Government Notice No. 25 in the Federal Republic of Nigeria Official Gazette No. 57, Volume 110, formally recognizes the Oba of Benin as the rightful custodian of the repatriated artefacts.
Governor Okpebholo expressed his respect for the traditional rights and privileges of Oba Ewuare II, reaffirming the administration’s commitment to supporting the monarch’s role as the custodian of Benin’s cultural heritage.
He emphasized that the governor’s administration would fully uphold the Oba’s exclusive ownership of the returned artefacts, which were looted during the 1897 Benin massacre.
Okpebholo also assured that his administration would refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of the Benin Traditional Council and would use its constitutional powers to restore any other statutory rights of the Oba not mentioned in the statement.
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