While it was being built Musa Isa Giwa, the father of famed journalist Dele Giwa, was one of the workers on the project. To provide for his young family, Musa, who had previously worked as a laundryman, accepted the position. Dele Giwa was just three years old in 1951 when the palace was being constructed.
In pursuit of a better life, Musa Isa Giwa left his ancestral home in Ugbekpe-Ekperi, which is situated in the Etsako region of the former Bendel State, to move to Ile-Ife. The young couple relocated in Ile-Ife, embracing a new life in the southwest, accompanied by Dele’s mother, Ayiyi Eleika, and his bride of just four months.
