Ikeji Aro 2026: ‘Aro Is Prepared for a Bumper Festival’ – Adaukwu Eucharia Oti

With just 14 days to Eke Ekpe 2026, the Secretary of the Publication and Publicity Subcommittee of the Ikeji Aro 2026 Central Planning Committee, Adaukwu Eucharia Oti (Agwabumma Aro), has called on sons and daughters of Arochukwu at home and in the diaspora to return home for the celebration.

Oti, who also served as Secretary-General of Inyom Aro Worldwide and currently works as a columnist and woman editor with Aro News, described Ikeji Aro as a period of thanksgiving, cultural celebration and family reunion.

Speaking in an interview with Newsleverage, she said the festival committee’s subcommittees had been working together to ensure a successful and peaceful celebration.

“Aro is prepared for it. We have several subcommittees who are working together to make sure that it becomes a bumper festival,” she said.

According to her, the organisers are expecting Aro sons and daughters from across Nigeria and the diaspora, as well as government officials and friends of Arochukwu, to converge on the kingdom.

She said the festival would provide an opportunity not only to celebrate but also to contribute to the development of Aro Kingdom. She noted that this year would be completely different as the people will be introduced to traditional healing practices and herbs to support their health.

“We are expecting a very peaceful Ikeji Aro celebration. We are expecting more development that will come through this Ikeji Aro celebration. We are expecting that our sons and daughters will come back en masse, and also even the government will attract more development to our kingdom,” she said.

Reflecting on her years of service to Aro, Oti described the experience as fulfilling, saying her passion for the kingdom had motivated her involvement in different capacities.

She recalled beginning her journey in 1999 as a secretary of Inyom Aro, Lagos Branch, before later serving as Assistant Secretary-General and eventually Secretary-General of Inyom Aro Worldwide.

She also highlighted her involvement in initiatives targeted at women and the girl child, including scholarship support for young girls through Iyom Aro Worldwide.

“I have a very strong passion for Aro,” she said, adding that serving the kingdom had continually challenged her to think about what she could contribute to its development.

Oti, who has been associated with Aro News since around 2007, said her work as a columnist had deepened her knowledge and appreciation of Aro history, tradition, and culture.

She said her column, Agwabumma, had provided another avenue through which she could engage with issues concerning the kingdom.

On the leadership of His Eminence, Eze Dr Eberechukwu Oji, Eze Aro IX, Oti described him as a visionary and prepared king whose emergence, in her view, came at the right time for Aro Kingdom.

“Light has come into Arochukwu,” she declared, arguing that there had been visible changes in the kingdom over the past few years.

She said the enthusiasm surrounding the monarch and recent cultural activities demonstrated that “something new” was happening in Aro.

She mentioned that being a Minister of God, the Monarch is an intentional child of God who has led the people with purpose by adopting leadership that brings them closer to God and to the wider world.

According to her, the progress recorded under the monarch should encourage Aro people to continue supporting his leadership.

Asked what she would tell Aro sons and daughters who were still undecided about returning home for Ikeji Aro 2026, Oti made a direct appeal for them to come home.

“I am asking them; I am urging them to come back. Ikeji Aro is a homecoming period. Ikeji Aro is a time of thanksgiving. It’s a time of family reunion,” she said.

She urged Aro people everywhere to use the festival as an opportunity to reunite, celebrate their heritage, and collectively contribute to the development of Arochukwu.