Edo State Governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo, on Tuesday joined other dignitaries to receive the remains of the late Archbishop of Benin City, Most Rev. Augustine Obiora Akubeze, in Benin City. Among the dignitaries at the reception were the Secretary to the Edo State Government, Umar Musa Ikhilor, the Edo State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Emperor Jaret Tenebe, and other top government officials. On March 18, 2011, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him Archbishop of Benin City, and he was installed on April 28, 2011. Until his death, Archbishop Akubeze served as the Metropolitan Archbishop of Benin City and remained a prominent voice in the Catholic Church in Nigeria.