FORMER Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki’s media aide, Crusoe Osagie, has refuted Governor Monday Okpebholo’s allegations that the Museum of West African Art (MOWAA) project was executed without transparency, describing the claims as false and misleading.
In a statement today, Osagie explained that all details regarding the MOWAA project and its collaboration with the Edo State Government were fully documented in the over 800-page Transition Committee Report handed to Okpebholo and his team in both soft and hard copies.
“We were shocked by Governor Okpebholo’s statements, which are completely untrue. Everything about the MOWAA project was clearly outlined in the transition report, just like other initiatives of the Obaseki-led administration,” Osagie said.
He added that Okpebholo’s transition team had been invited to a joint transition committee meeting but withdrew after the first sitting, insisting on being paid allowances before continuing.
According to him, the report contains comprehensive details of the state’s engagement with MOWAA, which the governor could have reviewed.
Osagie also rejected Okpebholo’s claim that the MOWAA site replaced a functioning hospital, calling it “misleading and amusing.”
He explained that the old hospital was already in disrepair, prompting the previous administration to construct a new facility on the same grounds, which the Obaseki government completed and opened to the public.
Under the new Benin City master plan, Osagie said, the decommissioned parts of the old Central Hospital were designated for cultural use, forming a district that now accommodates MOWAA, the National Museum, and other tourism-oriented facilities designed to promote culture and attract visitors to Edo State.
He urged Governor Okpebholo to stop misrepresenting facts about the project and instead apologize for what he described as “negligence” that has led to diplomatic issues for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.