Meeting of Benin’s Public Museums: List of Board Members

The Benin government has established the Administrative Council of the Réunion des musées publics du Bénin (RMPB), a strategic body charged with guiding and overseeing the policy for managing the country’s public museums.

The Council is composed of representatives from the Presidency of the Republic, the overseeing ministries, and the Ministry of Economy and Finance, as well as public agencies involved in the tourism sector.

Members are appointed for a three-year term, effective from their official installation.
The presidency of the Council has been entrusted by the Head of State, Patrice Talon, to the minister in charge of Tourism, Culture and the Arts.

In this capacity, Alimatou Sadhiya Assouma, acting in place of Jean-Michel Abimbola, chairs the RMPB’s Administrative Council.
Driven by the Talon government, the RMPB aims to structure, professionalize, promote and harmonize the management of Benin’s public museums.

It brings together four major public museums currently under construction: the Museum of the Kings and Amazons of Danhomè in Abomey, the International Museum of the Memory of Slavery in Ouidah, the International Museum of Vodun in Porto-Novo, and the Contemporary Art Museum in Cotonou.

The institution’s general management is ensured by Jacques Ayer, appointed as the RMPB’s Director General.

Composition of the RMPB Board

The RMPB is composed of the following personalities:
– Alimatou Sadhiya Assouma, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Arts, President of the Council;
– Comlan Alain Godonou, representative of the Presidency of the Republic;
– Coline Njonda-Lee Toumson-Venite, representative of the Presidency of the Republic;
– Ohinni Cédric Aquereburu, representative of the Presidency of the Republic;
– Gbenakpon Serge Oscar Dossou-Yovo, representative of the Ministry of Economy and Finance;
– Joan Dessaint Fomi, representative of the National Agency for Tourism Heritage;
– Sindé Gilles Chékété, representative of the Benin Agency for Tourism Development.

With this institutional framework, the authorities intend to lay the foundations for coherent and durable governance of the public museums, at the heart of the national cultural and tourism strategy.