The 2025 edition of the Iri Ji Ofuji Festival in Bende Local Government Area of Abia State was celebrated in grand style as businessman and philanthropist, Dr. Chimaobi Desmond Anyaso (CDA), hosted the annual cultural event, receiving royal blessings from traditional rulers and community leaders.
The festival, which held at the palace of Eze Joseph Anyanta, traditional ruler of Ibinikwu Igbere autonomous community, attracted monarchs, leaders, and residents from within and outside Bende.
Addressing Ndi Bende, Ndi Abia, and Ndi Igbo, Anyaso said the annual festival, which began in 2022, has grown into a platform that celebrates tradition while also inspiring the future.
This year’s theme, “Celebration of Two Decades of Bountiful Harvest: The Role of Education and Training in Cultivating the Next Generation of Wealth Creators,” underscores the festival’s focus on yam as not only a symbol of harvest but also of knowledge, hard work, and the foundation of prosperity for future generations.
Anyaso revealed that unlike previous editions, the 2025 celebration will extend beyond Igbere, reaching all three senatorial zones of Abia State — Abia South, Abia Central, and Abia North — as well as every ward in Bende Federal Constituency, under the #OfujiCares initiative.
“We are stronger together,” he declared, noting that the festival would promote compassion, celebrate cultural wealth, and plant seeds of greatness for coming generations.
He called on Ndi Igbere, Ndi Bende, Ndi Abia, and Ndi Igbo to join in this year’s Iri Ji Ofuji, which he described as “a festival of culture, unity, and hope.”
In his remarks, Eze Joseph Anyanta hailed Anyaso as a “worthy son of Igbere whose generosity and commitment to cultural preservation inspire unity,” noting that the festival had strengthened the bonds of brotherhood in Bende.
The event also marked the official flag-off of the New Yam Festival, after which Anyaso and his team toured all 13 wards of Bende to extend the celebration. With the hashtag #OfujiCares, the cultural fiesta is set to spread across Abia South, Abia Central, and Abia North, reinforcing its place as a statewide symbol of unity and hope.
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