By Emmanuel Adeniran
EFON ALAAYE, Ekiti State — Sons and daughters of Efon Kingdom at home and in the diaspora converged on the Efon Alaaye Stadium, Itawure Road, on Saturday, August 23, 2026, for the grand finale of Efon Alaaye Day 2026, themed ‘EFONXTRAORDINAIRE 2026’.
The week-long celebration, which began on Thursday, August 20, is held annually in the last week of August in thanksgiving for God’s protection over the community after the political violence that followed the 1983 governorship election in the old Ondo State.
This year’s edition is the 43rd anniversary of the celebration.
In his royal address, His Royal Majesty, Oba Dr. Emmanuel Adesanya Aladejare Agunsoye II, the Obalufon Alayemore and Alaaye of Efon Kingdom, welcomed guests and announced the adoption of two distinguished Nigerians as chiefs of the kingdom.
He named Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji, as Bashorun Ataiyese of Efon Kingdom and the Senate Leader, Senator Michael Opeyemi Bamidele, as Okanlomo Atunluse of Efon Kingdom, adding that the titles will be formally conferred soon.
The monarch explained that Efon Day started on August 24, 1984 as a thanksgiving service and has since become a celebration of culture and reflection. He commended contributions to the Palace Renovation Project, which he said has exceeded N100 million, under the leadership of Chief Patrick Akinboye Ojo.
He stressed that honours and chieftaincy titles are not finite but continuous, noting that “service is never forgotten; excellence and dedication are always celebrated.”
Speaking earlier, the President-General of the Efon Alaaye Development League (EDL), Balogun Olumuyiwa Oluwole Aiyegbusi, said Efon is second only to Ijebu-Ode in Yorubaland to set aside a period for thanksgiving. He recalled that after hours of sporadic police gunshots in August 1983, the community lost only a white goat.
Aiyegbusi noted that the 2026 edition is the first under his executive, which was elected on December 27, 2025, and said the League is determined to surpass past successes.
He appealed to indigenes to join hands to develop the kingdom in the areas of good governance, education, commerce and industrialization, and called on investors to take advantage of Efon’s climate, peaceful nature and mountain scenery for tourism, hotels and holiday homes.
He thanked Efon patriot, Mr. Gbenga Akanni, popularly known as Gentleman of G-Unit Hotels, for single-handedly sponsoring the appearance of Fuji star, Abass Akande Obesere, who thrilled the crowd at the grand finale.
The Chairman of the Central Planning Committee and Vice President 1 of the League, Mr. Wilfred Kolawole Ajumobi, in his welcome address, thanked members of the committee, branch executives and diaspora members for their sacrifices and donations despite economic challenges.
This year’s activities featured youth educational and sporting activities, traditional games, Egungun parade, Jumat service, free medical outreach, Miss Efon Alaaye beauty pageant and a National Thanksgiving Service organised by the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).
The grand finale featured parades by quarter heads and processions by clubs and associations.
In his State of the League report, the Secretary-General, Afolabi Ige, Esq., said the EDL has rebounded after Efon Day was moribund for 12 years, between 2012 and 2023. He said the festival was resuscitated in 2023 under Mr. Fagbemiro Thomas and sustained in 2025 under Olajide Olakanmi, Esq., popularly known as PANAF.
Ige announced the inauguration on May 30, 2026, of five standing committees: Finance; Social Services/Special Intervention; Education Development; Efon Inland Security Service; and Economic Development.
He said the Efon Inland Security Service Committee, now chaired by Hon. Olamide Oni and a retired Assistant Commissioner of Police, remains a priority, adding that the League will continue to support official security agencies.
He disclosed that the League’s website, www.efonalaayeworldwide.com, is now fully functional and urged indigenes to subscribe to branches, noting that 10 families are enough to charter a new branch.
In his goodwill message, the Chairman of Efon Local Government, Hon. Afolabi Segun Ezekiel, lauded the peace and unity in the council, the League and the traditional institution.
On security, he said the council is establishing a new Vigilante Outfit, with motorcycles and funds already donated by the Alaaye and other patriots.
On projects, he listed the concrete overlay with drainages at Igboegun linking Iloro by the Catholic cemetery, rehabilitation of Erekesan-Ilosi Road, construction of the St. Michael’s Grammar School Road bridge, tarred road with drainages on Bode Fagbemiro Way, farm roads at Olomowewe and Igboaba, line drainage and culvert at Imoba Okesegun, boreholes at Ogbonaro and Imoba, support for electricity and water rerouting, free agricultural inputs, and financial support for the Royal Palace reconstruction.
He said the State Government is encouraging private sector participation in water and power supply, with two investors currently bidding, and urged residents to acquire prepaid meters at the subsidized rate of N90,000.
He added that work on Erekesan Market is temporarily suspended but will resume, while the Alaaye Palace reconstruction has reached an advanced stage, courtesy of a take-off grant from Governor Biodun Oyebanji.
However, the Planning Committee honored some distinguished personalities with special honours as part of the ongoing celebrations, and these includes outstanding sons and daughters of Efon-Alaaye who have distinguished themselves in business, law, community development and public service.
The honourees are: Industrial Pioneer Award: Chief Amos Bamidele Olowokere (Ologbonla), founder of Gloria Ventures and Ologbonla Industries, which established the first sawmill in old Ekiti West.
Girl Child Inspiration Icon: Hon. Justice Monisola Oluwatoyin Abodunde, FCIArb, Pioneer President of the Customary Court of Appeal, Ekiti State.
Builder of Future Champions: Mr. Titus Oluwadare Ayodele, CEO of Julius and Julius and Associates LLP and Nigeria Country Coordinator for Professors Without Borders; and Bldr. (Dr.) Jimoh Ganiyu Olalekan, MD of Gani-Ola Engineering Services Ltd.
Distinguished Community Service Award: Pastor Rufus Oluwafemi Ajayi, retired educationist and President of the Rising Stars Club; and Mr. Patrick Olusoji Ekundayo, former President of the Efon-Alaaye UK and Europe Association.
Posthumous Distinguished Community Service Awards: Late Pastor Stephen Folorunsho Obisesan (JP), composer of the Efon anthem; and Late Dr. Emmanuel Olufemi Dada, the Basegun of Efon Alaaye, who founded Immanuel Medical Centre, the first private hospital in the town.
The celebration will climax on Sunday with the National Thanksgiving Service.
