MOWAA publishes audit amid dispute over institute funding

Museum of West African Art

The Museum of West African Art has disclosed that the total cost of building and equipping its MOWAA Institute in Benin City, Edo State, stood at N22.26bn, with the state government contributing N3.95bn in cash.

MOWAA made this known in its 2025 annual report and audited financial statements published following public statements concerning the cost of the institute and the extent of Edo State Government’s support.

In a statement signed by the Director, Finance and Administration, Kingsley Odigie, the organisation said the accounts were audited by Ernst & Young, which issued an unmodified opinion for the year ended December 31, 2025.

According to the audited report, MOWAA recorded total revenue of N14.011bn in 2025, compared with N12.530bn in 2024. Total expenditure stood at N5.358bn, resulting in a surplus of N8.653bn.

The organisation said its revenue comprised N7.908bn in donations, N5.985bn in grants and N117.697m in other revenue, with donations and grants accounting for about 99 per cent of reported revenue.

MOWAA said the Edo State Government’s N3.95bn cash donation comprised N3.8bn for civil and mechanical works for the institute and an earlier N150m for pre-construction activities for the wider campus.

It added that the state also supported the institution through land allocation and by helping to create an enabling environment for its establishment in Benin City.

Against about N38bn raised from inception to December 31, 2025, for its full campus and wider institutional programme, MOWAA said the state’s cash contribution represented approximately 10.4 per cent.

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It added that the same contribution was equivalent to 17.7 per cent of the N22.26bn cost of the institute.

“The total cost of building and equipping the MOWAA Institute was ₦22.26 billion. Edo State’s ₦3.95 billion cash donation was important and valued. The figures also make clear that the State provided some, but not all, of the funding for the Institute and did not fund MOWAA as a whole,” the organisation stated.

MOWAA said the approximately N4.1bn figure cited in public discussions represented an early bill of quantities for the first phase of civil construction and excluded later civil works, mechanical and electrical systems, fit-out, lighting, specialist research and conservation equipment, storage, professional services and foreign-exchange variations during construction.

The institute, which opened in November 2025, serves as an archive, research and education centre supporting archaeology, materials research, conservation and learning.

MOWAA reported total assets of N22.611bn as of December 31, 2025, including N19.887bn in property and equipment. Work in progress accounted for N18.058bn.

The organisation said it had engaged 87 people through direct employment and consultancy roles in 2025, while N133.173m was spent on education and community programmes.

MOWAA also disclosed that it had paused further construction on the wider campus until outstanding matters were resolved. It said the pause would not affect the operations of the institute or its research, conservation, education and public-interest activities.

The organisation said it would continue engaging relevant stakeholders to establish a stable basis for its long-term work in Benin City.