The Ekiti Council of Elders has called on all indigenes of the state and other Nigerian citizens to imbibe the virtues of honesty, integrity, and selfless service to humanity.
The senior citizens in the state who gave the advice said people with such virtues will always be remembered for their good deeds.
This came to the fore in Ado Ekiti, the state capital, as the body announced its plans to honour and immortalise a foremost nationalist, the late Chief Joel Babatola, through an annual lecture series.
the Chairman, Board of Trustees of the Joel Babatola Annual Lectures (JOBAL), Olufemi Adewumi, while addressing a news conference, said the maiden edition of Babalola’s lecture series, which was an ally of the first Premier of the Western region of Nigeria, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, will come up on Friday, November 7, 2025, in Ado Ekiti.
Adewumi, who is a retired Head of Service in Ekiti, explained that the initiative was conceived to celebrate the life and legacy of Chief Babatola, who served as a Parliamentary Secretary to Chief Awolowo during Nigeria’s self-government era in the 1950s, a role comparable to that of a Chief of Staff to a modern-day governor.
The BoT Chairman added that Babatola, who passed away at the age of 96, was also the pioneer Chairman of the Ekiti Council of Elders, where he made significant contributions to social and political development across the Southwest.
The objectives of the annual lecture, themed “Governance, Structural Reforms and Economic Landscape of Nigeria in the 21st Century,” according to him, are to stimulate intellectual reflections on cultural and political challenges in contemporary society, inspire patriotism among descendants of Yorubaland and honour the contributions of exemplary forebears whose values shaped Yoruba identity and governance.
He added that the maiden edition will feature former governor of Osun State and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Bisi Akande, as the guest lecturer and will attract dignitaries from across Yorubaland, including the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, as the Royal Father of the Day; Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji and the Ewi of Ado-Ekiti, Oba Rufus Adejugbe.
Other expected guests include the chairmen of councils of Obas across Ekiti and other Oodua states, the President of the Yoruba Council of Elders, and several distinguished personalities from academia, politics, and culture.
