By Osifo Urighifo, Benin
When the story of the Radisson Hotel project in Benin was first told, it was wrapped in the language of legacy, investment and modern urban renewal. Former Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, consistently maintained that the state’s exposure to the project was modest — a ₦2 billion investment to acquire the hotel from the Esama of Benin, Chief Gabriel Igbinedion. To many Edo residents, that explanation sounded neat and reassuring.
But fresh disclosures by the Edo State Government suggest a far more complex and troubling narrative.
In a video statement that has since stirred intense public debate, the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Kassim Afegbua, laid out what he described as audited financial records showing how the Radisson Hotel project was financed. According to him, the project was not a ₦2 billion transaction but one largely driven by a ₦25 billion bond sourced from the capital market — a debt Edo State is still servicing.
Afegbua dismissed Obaseki’s claims as misleading, insisting that government records show consistent payments to the Radisson project from 2022 onward. He revealed that since the current administration assumed office, Edo State has been paying ₦385 million monthly through an Irrevocable Standing Payment Order (ISPO) to service the bond. That deduction, he noted, comes directly from the state’s internally generated revenue, placing a sustained burden on taxpayers.
“Yes, ₦2 billion was paid for the land,” Afegbua acknowledged, adding that payment vouchers, dates, accounts and beneficiaries were clearly documented. “But that was only a fraction of the total expenditure.”
Beyond the land purchase, he said bond proceeds were used to fund a web of payments — to consultants, advisers and contractors linked to the project. Among them were Afrinvest, Obaseki’s company, which allegedly served as financial adviser, and Banwo & Ighodalo, which provided legal advisory services.
Afegbua detailed several transactions, including eight separate payments totaling ₦24 million to W Hospitality Group, all reportedly made almost on the same day. He also cited a ₦1.589 billion payment to Mar & More Integrated Services for mechanical works, as well as additional payments to Afrinvest and over ₦900 million paid to the hotel contractor — all allegedly drawn from the bond.
By May 2024, according to Afegbua, about ₦16 billion had been disbursed from the bond proceeds, while ₦2.677 billion was spent directly from government accounts. It was around this time, he said, that red flags began to emerge.
The project, he disclosed, was removed from the supervision of the Ministry of Finance following concerns raised by the former Commissioner for Finance over payment modalities and the propriety of certain transactions. Oversight was subsequently transferred to the Office of the Chief of Staff. After that, Afegbua claimed, the financial trail “largely went into oblivion.”
Further controversy surrounds the eventual sale of the hotel. Obaseki reportedly stated that the Radisson Hotel was sold to T-Bree Group, a company owned by one of his associates. Afegbua, however, alleged that investigations showed the company was registered in May 2024 — barely five months before Obaseki left office.
According to him, Corporate Affairs Commission records indicate that the company’s directors were the man, his wife and daughter, with no prior business track record. Yet, Afegbua said, this newly registered company became the buyer of a hotel project on which Edo State had allegedly spent over ₦20 billion.
Even more puzzling, he added, was Obaseki’s claim that the state had to “beg” T-Bree Group to retain 20 per cent ownership in the hotel.
“For someone who prides himself as a financial expert and investment banker,” Afegbua said, “this is voodoo financing — the work of a man who never meant well for the people.”
He further revealed that at some point during execution, the contractor demanded a variation of about ₦6 billion, barely six months after the contract was awarded — a development that, in his view, underscored the lack of transparency surrounding the project.
Today, the numbers tell a stark story. Edo State continues to service a ₦25 billion bond, paying ₦385 million every month. For Afegbua and the state government, the conclusion is clear.
“The Radisson Hotel in Edo State belongs to Edo people,” he declared. “It was initiated, built and funded with Edo taxpayers’ money. It is, and remains, Edo Radisson Hotel.”
As the debate rages on, Edo residents are left grappling with questions of accountability, governance and trust — and with the sobering reality that long after the headlines fade, the debt remains.
