Ado-Ekiti history stretches far beyond 1 October 1996, when Ekiti State was created and Ado-Ekiti became its capital. For generations before the modern state existed, Ado had already developed as a major Yoruba kingdom, a centre of traditional authority and, eventually, an important seat of colonial administration.
At the centre of Ado’s royal history stands Ewi Awamaro, traditionally associated with the establishment of the Ewi-led political order around the beginning of the fourteenth century. Ado tradition connects his emergence with a migration remembered through Ile-Ife, Benin and several settlements before his arrival in the area occupied by an older community known as Ilesun or Ulesun.
The rise of Awamaro marked an important political transformation. Communities already lived within the area before the Ewi dynasty became dominant, and the kingdom that eventually became Ado developed through migration, political struggle, incorporation and the gradual consolidation of royal authority.
Ado-Ekiti History Before Ewi Awamaro
The history of the city did not begin with Awamaro’s arrival.
Accounts of Ado’s early history identify Ilesun, also rendered Ulesun, as an earlier settlement. Its ruler was known as the Elesun, and traditions describe a political structure in which the ruler exercised authority with subordinate chiefs while also occupying an important religious position.
Historian Jadesola Tai Babatola, drawing on earlier publications and oral accounts collected in Ado-Ekiti, records traditions describing Ilesun and other communities in the area before the emergence of Ewi supremacy. Local historian Oke Akande also described the political formation of Ado as involving communities that the incoming Ewi encountered in the region.
Ilesun therefore occupies an important position in the story of early Ado. Its people formed part of the population and political landscape from which the later Ewi-led kingdom developed.
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The emergence of Ado can consequently be understood as the transformation of an existing settlement area into a kingdom centred upon the authority of the Ewi.
Awamaro and the Rise of the Ewi
Ado royal tradition identifies Awamaro as the ruler associated with the establishment of the new Ewi political order.
His name has traditionally been interpreted as meaning “the restless one”, while the title Ewi became associated with the traditional ruler of Ado. The royal migration account links Awamaro with Biritikolu, whose name appears in variant forms in different historical accounts, and ultimately connects the royal lineage with Ile-Ife.
The tradition also associates Biritikolu’s migration with Oranmiyan, one of the most prominent figures in Yoruba royal history and a figure closely connected with traditions concerning the early Benin monarchy.
Accounts preserved in Ado history describe movement through places including Oba-Ile, Utamodi or Oke-Papa, Ido-Ani and Agbado before Awamaro eventually reached the Ilesun area.
A. Oguntuyi’s A Short History of Ado-Ekiti records Awamaro prominently in the history of the kingdom and preserves important elements of the royal migration narrative.
The defining development was Awamaro’s emergence as the ruler around whom a new political order was consolidated.
The Struggle With Ilesun
Accounts of the emergence of the Ewi describe a period during which Awamaro and his followers settled among or close to the existing inhabitants before relations developed into political conflict.
Ado traditions place Awamaro at Oke-Ibon, around the area identified with present-day Odo-Ijigbo. They subsequently describe a struggle with the Elesun and the defeat of the older ruling authority.
After the rise of the Ewi, elements of the earlier population became incorporated into the developing kingdom. Some chiefs associated with the older communities continued to occupy positions within the political and ceremonial structure.
This pattern was significant in the growth of Yoruba kingdoms. Political communities often expanded through the incorporation of earlier inhabitants, migrants and neighbouring settlements into larger systems of authority.
Ado consequently developed as a composite political community. Over time, the Ewi became its central traditional ruler, and the kingdom became associated with Ado or Ado-Ewi.
Awamaro, 1310 and the Beginning of Udiroko
The year AD 1310 occupies an important place in Ado’s traditional chronology.
It is particularly associated with the reign of Awamaro and the beginnings of the Udiroko Festival, one of Ado-Ekiti’s most important annual cultural celebrations.
Ekiti State Government accounts of the festival place its origin at about AD 1310 during Awamaro’s reign.
The name Udiroko is associated with the tradition of gathering beneath an iroko tree at the Ewi’s palace. The celebration came to mark the beginning of a new year in Ado’s traditional calendar and developed into an important occasion bringing together the Ewi, chiefs, families and people of Ado.
The early fourteenth century remains the period traditionally associated with Awamaro’s establishment of the Ewi-led kingdom. The date has consequently become an important element of Ado’s historical identity and its continuing royal traditions.
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From Agbado to Ado
One memorable part of Ado’s migration story concerns Agbado-Ekiti.
According to Ado tradition, some elders who could not continue the migration remained at a settlement associated with the expression Agba Ado, referring to the elders of Ado. The name subsequently became associated with Agbado.
The story illustrates the historical relationship remembered between Ado and communities situated along the migration route.
Migration did not merely involve movement from one distant location to another. Settlements encountered or established during journeys became part of networks of kinship, political relationships and collective memory.
Ado’s early history was therefore connected with a geographical area extending well beyond the boundaries of the modern city.
Ado in Nineteenth-Century Yorubaland
By the nineteenth century, Ado was an established kingdom within eastern Yorubaland.
The century brought major political upheaval across the Yoruba country. Warfare, changing alliances, refugee movements and rivalry between states transformed much of the region.
Ekiti communities became particularly important during the long nineteenth-century struggle commonly known as the Ekiti Parapo or Kiriji War, fought against Ibadan domination.
Ado existed within this wider Ekiti political world as one of the established kingdoms governed by a recognised traditional monarch.
The subsequent extension of British authority across Yorubaland brought another significant transformation.
Colonial government introduced administrative structures that would strengthen Ado’s regional political importance during the twentieth century.
British Administration and Ado’s Political Rise
The early twentieth century was decisive in the development of Ado as an administrative centre.
Historians Adeyinka Theresa Ajayi and Lateef Oluwafemi Buhari identify G. E. Humphery as the first British political officer responsible for the Ekiti District from Ado, beginning on 1 January 1913.
Colonial administration brought new political and judicial institutions, including the establishment of a Native Court at Oke Barracks.
Further administrative reorganisation followed.
The Ekiti State Government’s history of Ado places particular importance on the Lord Lugard reforms of 1916, which strengthened Ado’s position within the administration of the Ekiti area.
During the following decades, the expansion of government offices, roads, schools, religious institutions and commercial activity increased the importance of the town.
Colonial administration therefore contributed significantly to Ado’s transformation from an established royal capital into an increasingly important bureaucratic and urban centre.
From Colonial Centre to Ekiti State Capital
Ado retained its administrative importance after Nigerian independence in 1960.
As Nigeria underwent successive political and territorial reorganisations, campaigns developed among Ekiti people for the creation of a separate state.
Those demands eventually succeeded during the military government of General Sani Abacha.
Ekiti State was created on 1 October 1996 from the old Ondo State, with Ado-Ekiti designated as its capital.
The decision gave Ado a new political status while building upon the administrative importance the city had acquired over previous generations.
Today, Ado-Ekiti is the seat of the Ekiti State Government and the headquarters of Ado Local Government Area.
It is also one of the five local government areas forming Ekiti Central Senatorial District, together with Efon, Ekiti West, Ijero and Irepodun/Ifelodun.
Ado’s position as state capital has encouraged further expansion in government administration, education, commerce, housing and transportation, making it one of the principal urban centres of contemporary Ekitiland.
Udiroko and the Survival of Ado’s Royal Heritage
Despite Ado-Ekiti’s modern political role, the institution of the Ewi remains central to the identity of the city.
The present monarch is Oba Rufus Adeyemo Adejugbe Aladesanmi III, the Ewi of Ado-Ekiti. He ascended the throne in 1990 and marked the thirty-fifth anniversary of his accession in November 2025.
On 19 August 2026, Ado-Ekiti celebrated the Udiroko Festival at the Ewi’s palace.
During the celebration, Oba Adejugbe emphasised the importance of preserving the city’s history, traditions and cultural values.
Ekiti State Governor Biodun Oyebanji also highlighted the potential of Udiroko and other cultural festivals to support tourism, economic activity and wealth creation while maintaining their cultural importance.
Udiroko remains one of the clearest links between ancient Ado kingship and the modern city.
Centuries after the period associated with Awamaro, the Ewi’s palace remains a centre of communal identity, royal ceremony and cultural celebration.
Conclusion
The story of Ado-Ekiti reaches much further into the past than the creation of Ekiti State in 1996.
Its early history includes the community of Ilesun, the rise of Ewi Awamaro, the incorporation of earlier populations and the gradual creation of a kingdom centred upon the Ewi.
The early fourteenth-century period associated with Awamaro remains central to Ado’s traditional chronology, particularly through the continuing celebration of Udiroko.
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Over subsequent centuries, Ado developed into an established Yoruba kingdom. Its political importance increased further during British colonial administration in the early twentieth century.
When Ekiti State was created on 1 October 1996, Ado-Ekiti became its capital, adding modern political authority to a city already shaped by centuries of kingship and regional influence.
Modern Ado-Ekiti history is therefore a story of settlement, migration, political consolidation, kingship, colonial administration and state creation.
Author’s Note
Ado-Ekiti’s history shows how an ancient Yoruba kingdom grew through successive communities, political change and the enduring institution of the Ewi. The rise of Awamaro transformed the political landscape inherited from communities including Ilesun, while later colonial administration strengthened Ado’s regional importance. The continuing Udiroko Festival connects the modern Ekiti State capital with the royal traditions that shaped the city centuries before Nigeria’s present political boundaries were created.
References
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Babatola, Jadesola Tai. “Settlers, Conquerors and Immigrants in the Early Occupation of Ekitiland, 1300–1950.” Ekiti State University, 2017.
Akande, Oke. Ado-Ekiti: People, Language and Philosophy. Bomas, Ado-Ekiti, 1985.
Ajayi, Adeyinka Theresa and Oyewale, Peter Oluwaseun. “Socio-Economic Impacts of Settlers in Ado-Ekiti.” International Journal of History and Cultural Studies, Vol. 3, Issue 2, 2017, pp. 19–26.
Ajayi, Adeyinka Theresa and Buhari, Lateef Oluwafemi. “Political Activities in Ado-Ekiti during Colonial Era.” Research on Humanities and Social Sciences, Vol. 7, No. 10, 2017.
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Ekiti State Government. “About Ekiti.” Official account of Ekiti State, its creation, capital and senatorial districts.
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Ekiti State Government. “Gov. Oyebanji Reiterates Commitment to Preservation, Proper Documentation of Ekiti History.” 15 December 2025.
Ekiti State Government. “Gov. Oyebanji Congratulates Ewi of Ado Ekiti on 80th Birthday, 35th Coronation Anniversary.” 23 November 2025.
Ekiti State Government. “Gov. Oyebanji at Udiroko Festival, Seeks Support for Pres. Tinubu’s Re-Election.” 19 August 2026.
Channels Television. “Heritage, Unity, Progress on Display as Ado-Ekiti Celebrates Udiroko Festival.” 21 August 2026.
Independent National Electoral Commission. 2015 General Elections Information Kit. Federal Republic of Nigeria.
