The Edo State Government has contituted a special committee to ascertain the true legal and operational status of the Museum of West African Art (MOWAA).
This was contained in a statement signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Umar Ikhilor.
READ ALSO: Okpebholo Signs Law Prescribing Jail Term For Forceful Entry Into Edo Govt Properties
The government said the move followed a series of protests and petitions from members of the public, including eminent individuals from the Benin Royal Palace and Traditional Council, concerning the operations and governance structure of the museum.
“The Edo State Government has noted the series of protests and petitions from members of the public, including eminent individuals from the Benin Royal Palace and Traditional Council, concerning the operations and governance structure of the Museum of West African Art (MOWAA).
“In response, and in recognition of the Benin Royal Palace as the true and lawful custodian of the cultural heritage and artifacts of the Benin Kingdom, the governor of Edo State has approved the constitution of a special committee on MOWAA,” the statement partly read on Friday.
Other terms of reference of the committee are to interface with international donors, partners, and trustees of MOWAA to clarify the position, rights, and stake of the Benin Royal Palace and traditional institution in the museum project.
The committee is also expected to take appropriate recommendations to the state government for further action.
Members of the committee are Senator Adams Oshiomhole (Chairman), General Cecil Esekhaigbe (retd.) (Vice Chairman), and Lucky Imasuen.
Others are Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, Roland Otaru, SAN, and Iryn Omorogiuwa as secretary.
“The committee is expected to commence work immediately and submit its findings and recommendations within the shortest possible time.
The title sponsor of the beleaguered Israel-Premier Tech has ended its association, despite the team agreeing to remove Israel from its name.
The team had pledged to the change in October after public pressure from the Canadian company, citing pro-Palestinian protests during the Vuelta a Espana in September, many of which were directed towards Israel-Premier Tech.
Canadian rider Derek Gee had also cancelled his contract with the team days before the Vuelta, citing “serious concerns”.
In a statement, agricultural products company Premier Tech said: “Although we took notice of the team’s decision to change its name for the 2026 season, the core reason for Premier Tech to sponsor the team has been overshadowed to a point where it has become untenable for us to continue as a sponsor.
“Premier Tech has decided to step down as co-title sponsor of the team taking effect immediately.”
Premier Tech had said in September it “expects the team to evolve towards a new name excluding ‘Israel’, leading to a new identity and branding for the team”.
And whilst the team had been in the process of reorganising after owner Canadian-Israeli billionaire Sylvan Adams decided to step back from day-to-day operations, a new lead figure and structure was still set to be announced.
In response to Premier Tech’s decision, the team told BBC Sport on Friday it was “unable to comment on the announcement made by Premier Tech”.
The team added: “However, as sponsor discussions continue to take place, with existing and potential partners, the team is as motivated as ever for the coming season.
Israel-Premier Tech saga: How did it get to this?
Israel-Premier Tech have been targeted by pro-Palestinian protestors relating to the Israel-Gaza war, which was sparked by a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed.
Israel responded by launching a military campaign in Gaza, during which more than 68,800 people have been killed, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
Although not directly referenced in statements, Gee said riding for the team “weighed heavily on his conscience”, and said he is the subject of a 30m euros (£26m) damages claim for breach of contract from the team.
Gee, a popular figure in the sport, was considered one of the team’s best riders, having finished fourth in May’s Giro d’Italia.
Adams’ involvement in Israeli politics is well known, telling BBC Sport in 2020 he is a “self-appointed ambassador to Israel”.
He supported Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government on a trip to the White House to oversee the signing of an accord between arab nations and Israel during US President Donald Trump’s first term in 2020.
The protests during the Vuelta affected several of the 21 stages across the three-week Grand Tour, including the cancellation of the final stage in Madrid, when protestors blocked the course with barriers and some riders were pushed from their bikes.
On stage five during the team time trial, a banner was unfurled in front of Israel-Premier Tech as they approached at speed, taking four of eight riders out of the stage.
The title sponsor of the beleaguered Israel-Premier Tech has ended its association, despite the team agreeing to remove Israel from its name.
The team had pledged to the change in October after public pressure from the Canadian company, citing pro-Palestinian protests during the Vuelta a Espana in September, many of which were directed towards Israel-Premier Tech.
Canadian rider Derek Gee had also cancelled his contract with the team days before the Vuelta, citing “serious concerns”.
In a statement, agricultural products company Premier Tech said: “Although we took notice of the team’s decision to change its name for the 2026 season, the core reason for Premier Tech to sponsor the team has been overshadowed to a point where it has become untenable for us to continue as a sponsor.
“Premier Tech has decided to step down as co-title sponsor of the team taking effect immediately.”
Premier Tech had said in September it “expects the team to evolve towards a new name excluding ‘Israel’, leading to a new identity and branding for the team”.
And whilst the team had been in the process of reorganising after owner Canadian-Israeli billionaire Sylvan Adams decided to step back from day-to-day operations, a new lead figure and structure was still set to be announced.
In response to Premier Tech’s decision, the team told BBC Sport on Friday it was “unable to comment on the announcement made by Premier Tech”.
The team added: “However, as sponsor discussions continue to take place, with existing and potential partners, the team is as motivated as ever for the coming season.
Israel-Premier Tech saga: How did it get to this?
Israel-Premier Tech have been targeted by pro-Palestinian protestors relating to the Israel-Gaza war, which was sparked by a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed.
Israel responded by launching a military campaign in Gaza, during which more than 68,800 people have been killed, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
Although not directly referenced in statements, Gee said riding for the team “weighed heavily on his conscience”, and said he is the subject of a 30m euros (£26m) damages claim for breach of contract from the team.
Gee, a popular figure in the sport, was considered one of the team’s best riders, having finished fourth in May’s Giro d’Italia.
Adams’ involvement in Israeli politics is well known, telling BBC Sport in 2020 he is a “self-appointed ambassador to Israel”.
He supported Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government on a trip to the White House to oversee the signing of an accord between arab nations and Israel during US President Donald Trump’s first term in 2020.
The protests during the Vuelta affected several of the 21 stages across the three-week Grand Tour, including the cancellation of the final stage in Madrid, when protestors blocked the course with barriers and some riders were pushed from their bikes.
On stage five during the team time trial, a banner was unfurled in front of Israel-Premier Tech as they approached at speed, taking four of eight riders out of the stage.
The title sponsor of the beleaguered Israel-Premier Tech has ended its association, despite the team agreeing to remove Israel from its name.
The team had pledged to the change in October after public pressure from the Canadian company, citing pro-Palestinian protests during the Vuelta a Espana in September, many of which were directed towards Israel-Premier Tech.
Canadian rider Derek Gee had also cancelled his contract with the team days before the Vuelta, citing “serious concerns”.
In a statement, agricultural products company Premier Tech said: “Although we took notice of the team’s decision to change its name for the 2026 season, the core reason for Premier Tech to sponsor the team has been overshadowed to a point where it has become untenable for us to continue as a sponsor.
“Premier Tech has decided to step down as co-title sponsor of the team taking effect immediately.”
Premier Tech had said in September it “expects the team to evolve towards a new name excluding ‘Israel’, leading to a new identity and branding for the team”.
And whilst the team had been in the process of reorganising after owner Canadian-Israeli billionaire Sylvan Adams decided to step back from day-to-day operations, a new lead figure and structure was still set to be announced.
In response to Premier Tech’s decision, the team told BBC Sport on Friday it was “unable to comment on the announcement made by Premier Tech”.
The team added: “However, as sponsor discussions continue to take place, with existing and potential partners, the team is as motivated as ever for the coming season.
Israel-Premier Tech saga: How did it get to this?
Israel-Premier Tech have been targeted by pro-Palestinian protestors relating to the Israel-Gaza war, which was sparked by a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed.
Israel responded by launching a military campaign in Gaza, during which more than 68,800 people have been killed, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
Although not directly referenced in statements, Gee said riding for the team “weighed heavily on his conscience”, and said he is the subject of a 30m euros (£26m) damages claim for breach of contract from the team.
Gee, a popular figure in the sport, was considered one of the team’s best riders, having finished fourth in May’s Giro d’Italia.
Adams’ involvement in Israeli politics is well known, telling BBC Sport in 2020 he is a “self-appointed ambassador to Israel”.
He supported Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government on a trip to the White House to oversee the signing of an accord between arab nations and Israel during US President Donald Trump’s first term in 2020.
The protests during the Vuelta affected several of the 21 stages across the three-week Grand Tour, including the cancellation of the final stage in Madrid, when protestors blocked the course with barriers and some riders were pushed from their bikes.
On stage five during the team time trial, a banner was unfurled in front of Israel-Premier Tech as they approached at speed, taking four of eight riders out of the stage.
The Celebrity Traitors final was nail-biting to the end as millions tuned in to see fantastic Traitor Alan Carr took home the prize pot after fooling David Olusoga and Nick Mohammed
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Celebrity Traitors star exposes the moment that changed the course of the final(Image: BBC)
The final of the Celebrity Traitors got underway last night and had millions of viewers on the edge of their seat. Two Traitors, Cat Burns and Alan Carr, made it to the final, but ultimately Cat was banished and Alan took home the prize pot. Cat has now revealed an unseen moment that changed everything for the finalists.
The singer was a Traitor from the start and had sailed through most of the episodes with relatively little suspicion cast her way. But in the semi final, Joe Marler seemed to guess she and Alan were not as Faithful as they claimed, and Cat’s chances of winning appeared to slip away.
Ultimately, she was banished, but so was Joe. When Nick Mohammed and David Olusoga agreed to stop banishing people, while Alan was still in their midst, they lost out on the prize pot too.
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On BBC Breakfast, Cat shared the real reason she was banished. She shared that had she not pushed for Kate Garraway’s banishment in the semi-final, she would have stood more of a chance as she wouldn’t have been the only woman left.
She said: “In hindsight, I think if we didn’t banish Kate before, I probably would have had a chance as there would have been two women left. Then they could have been like, ‘is it Cat, is it Kate’.”
But because Kate was gone, and proven to be a Faithful, Cat was “the last one left” from the female celebs, which led the others to think it had to be her. On screen, this theory wasn’t shown.
The Faithfuls had many theories about who the Traitors could be. Most talked about was the Big Dog theory, which suggested that the two camps, Faithful and Traitor, had to be headed up by Stephen Fry and Jonathan Ross respectively as they were ‘Big Dogs’ and the production would want to pit them against each other.
However, none of the remaining Faithfuls made any reference to Cat being the only woman in their on-screen deliberations, nor did they suggest that one of the Traitors had to be a woman.
In the course of the show, the Faithfuls only caught one Traitor prior to the final. Jonathan Ross was caught and banished in the quarter final. As such, the remaining Faithfuls were sure there were two Traitors left.
This spelled trouble for Cat, who could not convince the others she was Faithful and was banished. But she was unable to tell the group that she was a Traitor.
They continued to vote, hunting for their third Traitor. In a shock to many, Nick and David, who had seemed aligned with Joe on his theory about Alan, turned on the rugby star and voted him off.
Satisfied that they had caught all the Traitors, Nick, David and Alan agreed to stop voting, only for it to be revealed that Alan had been a Traitor all along. He won the prize money for his chosen charity, Neuroblastoma UK.
The charity, which tries to help children with cancer, received £87,500 from the comedian. In a touching message, they said: “We’ve adored watching you over the last three weeks; all the more so with the glimmer of hope that if you did well, it might just mean something big for our small charity. And you did it.
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“As our faithful Patron for nine years, your commitment, compassion and drive to bring hope to children and families facing this aggressive cancer have been nothing short of transformational. As a small charity with a big mission, you know how much this means to us.”
Claressa Shields has signed an $8m (£6.1m) multi-fight contract with Wynn Records and Salita Promotions, which she says will help her “keep breaking barriers inside and outside the ring”.
The American, who has won undisputed titles in three weight classes and is a two-time Olympic gold-medallist, is one of women’s boxing’s biggest stars.
The 30-year-old turned down interest from Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions (MVP), which includes top female talent such as Savannah Marshall and Chantelle Cameron, before signing the deal.
Shields says the contract will give her a bigger platform to continue fighting for equality in the sport.
“This deal represents more than just a contract, it’s a statement. I’ve fought my entire career to prove that women’s boxing deserves equal respect, equal pay, and equal opportunity,” said Shields.
“Partnering with Salita Promotions and Wynn Records gives me the platform to keep breaking barriers inside and outside the ring. Together, we’re building something that’s never been done before.”
Wynn Records describes itself as a leading entertainment and music label, while boxing’s Salita Promotions was set up by former world title challenger Dmitriy Salita in 2010.
Shields’ last fight was a win over Lani Daniels in July when she retained her undisputed heavyweight crown and extended the unbeaten start to her career to 17 bouts.
