It was a moment of joy for the sons and daughters of Iwaro-Oka in Akoko southwest local government area of ondo state as they celebrated this year’s new yam festival amid fanfare.
Residents decked in colourful asoebi of various designs to depict the mood within the town as the event also coincided with the third coronation anniversary of the Asin, Iwaro-Oka Oba Omiyejola Akande.
The people were seen in groups, paying homage to the monarch who in turn was blessing them.
Addressing the gathering, Oba Akande said the new yam festival was an annual event during which they celebrated the onset of bountiful harvest after farming round the year.
According to the monarch, it also serves as a reunion for indigenes of the ancient town.
Oba Akande called on all sons and daughters of Iwaro-Oka both at home and in diaspora to attract more developments to the area so that the community could be transformed to an urban centre.
He congratulated residents and the Asin- in-council for the success of the 2023 new yam festival urging them to be more harworking and law abiding always.
Wife of the monarch, Olori Oluwawemimo Akande who could not contain her joy described the occasion as a double celebration for the community and charged residents to continue to embrace peace which the town is known for.
The Chairman, Oka-odo Development Forum, Comrade Tunde Adekanye congratulated the Asin monarch on his coronation and prayed for more peace and development in the community.
Also in an address, the Chairman, Oka-odo Central Committee, Elder Jerome Tolorunlogo, who thanked guests at the event, especially royal fathers for honoring them expressed the hope that Iwaro-Oka in Oka Akoko would continue to witness sustainable progress.
Highpoints of the festival were the conferment of Chieftancy titles on prominent sons and daughters of the kingdom and the symbolic eating of the new yam which also signifies the beginning of a brand new year for the residents of Iwaro-Oka community.