The ceremonies marking the final homecoming of the late Madam Esther Iyalaje Adegboye, mother of the Ekiti State Deputy Governor, Chief (Mrs) Monisade Afuye, has kicked off in her Ikere Ekiti country home on Thursday.
Madam Adegboye died on February 18, 2025 at the age of 97 and will be interred on Friday, June 27.
Her remains had earlier left the morgue of the Bell Private Cemetery in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State Capital and the motorcade of Climax Funeral International and musical band ferried the corpse from Ado Ekiti to Ikere Ekiti amid long convoy of cars.
The corpse was moved to her residence at Noah Afeni Adegboye’s compound, Oke Osun, Ikere Ekiti, for the lying-in-state and service of songs.
It took over two hours for the convoy to reach Ikere Ekiti, which ordinarily could be covered within 20 minutes by motorists due to the length of the vehicles.
The Deputy Governor, Chief (Mrs) Monisade Afuye led other siblings and family members on the entourage and were received at the Ikere entrance by ecstatic and jubilant adherents adorned in T-shirt carrying the portrait of the departed soul.
The family members danced joyously to multiple music being supplied by Musical Band of the Climax Funeral International and local musicians to celebrate the respectable community leader.
The passers-by cheered the family members as the motorcade conveying the corpse passed through Ado-Ikere dual carriage way.
Upon arrival in Ikere Ekiti, the corpse was first taken to the Adeyeri’s compound, the paternal lineage of the late Madam Adegboye, at Odo- Uro Quarters, where they had a stopover for about 15 minutes.
The procession later marched to the Adegboye’s compound at Oke Osun, where the lying- in- state was conducted.
The Christain wake will hold later this evening.
However, the free medical outreach for the vulnerable championed by the Deputy Governor to celebrate Madam Adegboye is still operational.
The medical intervention programme began in Ikere Ekiti on Wednesday, June 25.
The medical experts, led by an Assistant Director of if Nursing Services, Mrs Olufolake Odufale, prosecuting the programme were on hand at the Adegboye’s compound to test and offer treatments for hypertension, diabetes and other ailments.
The team also distributed free drugs to patients that came for the medical exercise.