The member representing Afikpo/Edda federal constituency, Ebonyi State in the House of Representatives has described new yam festival as a prominent cultural practice that has contributed to social development and most important heritage that is common to all communities in Igboland.

He explained that Ikeji new yam festival in Afikpo and Edda fosters sense of unity and shared historical experience among the two clans.

Addressing a mammoth crowd in Ugwu Ovum Mgbom, Afikpo in Afikpo Local Government Area of the state during the 6th Okpudo Ikeji lecture series on Afikpo/Edda new yam festivals, Igariwey said the United Nations recognizes the fact that cultural practices, traditions and values of any group of people that are in line with human rights principles, play critical role in advancing and promoting development.

He called for sustenance of new yam festival in Igboland to advance, and promote development and preserve the people’s culture and traditions.

“In the past, festivals were seen as a way of venerating ancestors, but today, Ikeji provides an opportunity to understand the dynamics of our communal and intergroup relations.

“As you can see, all the villages and communities in Afikpo and Edda are represented here, and there is no matrilineal family (Ikwu) that does not participate in the Okpudo Annual Ikeji Lecture. It is a matter of our identity and the promotion of our cultural heritage.

“We are celebrating the new yam festival today not because we cannot eat our yam in our homes without a ceremony but because Ikeji is a significant component of our cultural landscape, a way of building and strengthening our communal belongingness.

“The gathering here today reinforces the fact that we believe in solidarity and peaceful co-exeistence. The Okpudo Lecture is a space for creative dialogue, an opportunity to re -examine ourselves and redefine our status as an indigenous group to this locality.

“There is every need to point out that, beyond the much-celebratef yearly intellectual harvest, this event has also served as a platform for cultural revival and the showcasing of indigenous talents”, the lawmaker stated.

Igariwey, who is the Vice Chairman, House of Representatives committee on Appropriation expressed the hope that the lecture series and entertainment will further deepen love for one another in Afikpo and Edda and bring about positive peace and unity among members of the federal constituency.

“I believe in humanity as a big family. I also believe in the unity and progress of Afikpo/Edda federal constituency. There is no Edda man who does not have a relation in Afikpo, and there is no Afikpo woman without a brother in Edda.

“I must also tell you that the Old Afikpo Division is one, and that is the reason I extend development projects to Ohaozara, Onicha, Ivo and other parts of Ebonyi State. Let us use this platform to make new friends and pray for the health of our families, the harmony of our communities.

Professor Oguguo Egwu, Guest Lecturer of this year’s lecture series, said new yam festival in Afikpo and Edda is revered as an annual spiritual, agricultural, and cultural event that inaugurates the traditional new year.

He explained that the festival has gone beyond its traditional ritual functions to assume broader socio-political and developmental significance.

‘Beyond celebrating, the harvest, the festival reminds us that the strength of Afikpo -Edda lies not in uniformity but in the unity of its diverse communities, whose traditions remain deeply interconnected through shared institutions, values, and ancestral bonds”, he said.