Ooni Announces 2026 Aje Festival, Unveils Full Programme Of Events

The Permanent Chairman of the Southern Nigeria Traditional Rulers Council (SNTRC) Olofin Adimula and the Natural Head of the Oduduwa race worldwide, the Ooni of Ife, Ooni Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, CFR, Ojaja II has officially announced the hosting of the Aje Festival 2026 in Ile-Ife, unveiling a comprehensive programme of activities lined up for the revered cultural celebration.

 

In a statement on Monday signed by the Director of Media and Public Affairs, Ooni’s Palace, Otunba Moses Olafare said the announcement followed the satisfactory conclusion of preparations by the Aje Festival Planning Committee, led by the Iyalale Oodua and Global Coordinator of Aje Festival International, Princess Dr. Toyin Kolade, in collaboration with the House of Oduduwa.

The 2026 Aje Festival, themed “Trading for Prosperity: Aje, The Cultural Commerce,” is scheduled to run from January 6 to February 16, 2026, with pre-festival activities preceding the grand finale at the Ooni’s Palace, Enuwa, Ile-Ife.

Pre-festival events will commence from January 6 to February 7, 2026, beginning with CPPP Sponsors Affirmation. This will be followed by Aje Festival Press Releases on Thursday, January 28, 2026, and the Aje Corporate Luncheon and Sponsors Unveiling on Thursday, February 5, 2026.

The grand finale activities will hold between Friday, February 13 and Monday, February 16, 2026. Events scheduled include the Aje Oja Ife Exposition on Friday, February 13, Women Empowerment Initiatives and the Aje Summit on Commerce and Trade on Saturday, February 14, and Widows and Orphan Care Initiatives alongside a Cultural Night on Sunday, February 15.

The festival will climax on Monday, February 16, 2026, with the Aje Heritage Procession and a Grand Royal Invitational Reception, featuring a royal procession led by the Ooni of Ife and his council of chiefs to the sacred Aje shrine at Ejigbomẹkun Market, where special prayers and rites will be offered for prosperity, economic stability, and national development.

The Aje Festival is an ancient and revered cultural celebration dedicated to AJE, the goddess of wealth, prosperity, and profitable trade, believed to be one of the 401 primordial spiritual beings of Ootu Ife, the cradle of mankind. The festival has, for centuries, symbolised abundance, economic fortune, and spiritual renewal among the Yoruba people.

The House of Oduduwa described the Aje Festival 2026 as a strategic platform for cultural revival, economic empowerment, and heritage diplomacy, expected to attract traditional rulers, Aje devotees, cultural groups, investors, and guests from across Nigeria and the diaspora.

The festival is also expected to further reinforce Ile-Ife’s status as the spiritual headquarters of the Yoruba race and a global destination for cultural tourism and commerce.