The grand finale of the platinum jubilee of Ekiti Parapo College (EKPACO), Ido Ekiti will hold at the school’s premises from today and Saturday.
According to the association’s National President, Dotun Adekanmbi, the grand finale activities will cap the yearlong 70th anniversary celebration of the founding of the college, which is the first and only Ekiti-wholly owned institution built on the dreams of all Ekiti sons and daughters.
The events will kick off today with medical outreach to staff and students of the college, as well as a Jumat service and an Anniversary Lecture titled: “EKPACO at 70: Celebrating a Milestone and Laying the Foundation for a Brighter Tomorrow” to be delivered by Rufus Akomolafe, Professor of Renal and Gastrointestinal Physiology at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife.
“The anniversary will be rounded off with the launch of the alumni website, presentation of awards to 38 eminent past and present members of our association and naming of streets in honour of three outstanding staff of the college, namely, the late Chief Adepoju Akomolafe (founding principal), the late Chief Alfred Asebiomo (second principal), and the late Chief James Christopher Idowu Iyiola (senior boarding housemaster). A street will also be named after the Olojudo of Ido Ekiti, our host community.
“EKPACO is the brainchild of two dynamic, though defunct associations of Ekiti indigenes, namely, Ekiti National Association (ENA) and Ekiti Progressive Union (EPU) in the 1950s, so the 70th anniversary celebration is intended to afford us the opportunity to appraise the level of development and growth of our alma mater, as well as avail our members an occasion to share experiences and reflect on life and living since they left the college,” Adekambi said.
EPCOSA’s Public Relations Officer, Engr. Ayodeji Afolabi, stated: “Our primary goal for celebrating EKPACO at 70 is to underscore our association’s commitment to building a globally competitive educational institution that will be a legacy school to celebrate our past, consolidate our present and chart a new course for the future, hence the theme, ‘EKPACO…Tomorrow’s Bright’.