By joshua 
Kogi Culture Ambassador Kemi Olawumi to Represent Nigeria at 2026 Aboakyir Festival in Ghana, Thanks Gov. Ododo for Support
Amb. Kemi Olawumi, Kogi State Culture Ambassador, will represent Kogi State and Nigeria at the 2026 Aboakyir Festival and Cultural Contest in Winneba, Ghana.
Amb. Olawumi recently briefed His Excellency Alh. Ahmed Usman Ododo, Executive Governor of Kogi State, to officially intimate him of her selection as queen representing Kogi State at the festival. She expressed gratitude to the governor for his staunch support toward the cultural assignment.
“I thank Your Excellency, Gov. Ododo, for your unwavering support for this beautiful cause,” she said.
“I pray that God helps me to make you, the entire Kogi State, Nigeria, and Africa proud.”
The 2026 Aboakyir Festival is held by the Effutu people of Winneba in Ghana’s Central Region, climaxing with a grand durbar at the AME Zion School Park. Held on the theme, “Advancing Our Cultural Heritage for Development”.
The festival also mark the 30th anniversary of Neenyi Ghartey VII’s reign as Omanhene of the Effutu Traditional Area and his 70th birthday.
Key activities in the festival will include the official launch, features calls for unity and fundraising for a new palace for the Effutu State.
The week-long program will feature marathons, interfaith services, sanitation exercises, youth programs, regattas, concerts, health walks, street carnivals, sporting events, and a boxing contest featuring Aryeetey Powers.
A highlight will be the traditional deer hunt, where the Tuafo No.1 Company presented the first live bushbuck to the Omanhene where he stepped on it three times to signify acceptance by Penkyi Otu, the principal deity—a rite believed to guarantee a bumper harvest and prosperity. The festival will conclude with a grand durbar, as chiefs and people processed in colourful regalia to Zion Park to pay homage amid drumming, dancing, and displays by the Tuafo No.1 and Dentsifo No.2 companies.
Aboakyir commemorates Penkyi Otu for leading the Effutu ancestors from the Western Sudan Empire/Timbuktu to their present settlement in Winneba. The festival blends warrior tradition, thanksgiving, and the renewal of communal bonds.
The 2026 edition will draw high-level attendance, including Ghana’s Vice President Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, who pledged massive infrastructure development for Winneba.
MTN Ghana supported the festival with GH₵20,000, airtime, and drinks, while funds were raised toward constructing a befitting palace for the Effutu State. A delegation from the Winneba-Charlottesville Sister City relationship will also be present.
Thousands of revellers, tourists, and indigenes will gather in Winneba, with the durbar ground alive with fontomfrom and atumpan drum rhythms, traditional dances, and vibrant regalia.
Organizers said the 2026 festival underscored the role of culture as a driver of development, tourism, and economic growth, with leaders stressing unity, heritage preservation, and leveraging the event to attract investment and improve livelihoods.
Amb. Olawumi said she would use the platform to showcase Kogi’s rich cultural heritage and strengthen cultural ties between Nigeria and Ghana.