Ikole


Ikole is a Local Government Area of Ekiti State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Ikole.
It has an area of 321 km² and a population of 168,436 at the 2006 census.
The postal code of the area is 370.

People

The Local Government is predominantly a homogenous society and carefully populated by Ekiti speaking people of the South West Zone of Nigeria. The Religious of the people are mainly Christian and Islamic religious while a percentage of the people are Traditional religion worshippers.
Ikole LGA is named after the principal town of the area, Ikole Ekiti. The traditional ruler Ikole town is the Elekole of Ikole, who also doubles as the paramount ruler of Egbeoba Kingdom alluding to Ikole LGA's make up of several other constituent towns with their own traditional rulers and Chiefs. There are 24 state level recognised Obas in Ikole LGA alone, a unique feature of this area contrasted with other areas of Ekiti. Each of these Obas are independent. History holds that between 1900 and 1920, active migration of far flung villages and towns deep in the forest were encouraged towards a new conurbation under the umbrella of Egbeoba leading up to the formation of modern Egbeoba Kingdom under the then Elekole Adeleye I, a retired police officer. According to JET Babatola, "This community and others around Ikole resettled along the Ikole-Kabba road due to the influence of the late Elekole who asked them to settle nearby to influence their trade and economic potentials prior to the 1920 Oke Eniju revolt and its consequences"
The LGA comprises twenty-four towns and villages. Towns in the LGA are
Ikole
Ijesha Isu
Oke Ayedun
Ootunja
Odo-Oro
Ipao
Itapaji
Ara
Isaba
Usin
Orin Odo
Odo Ayedun
Ayebode
Oke Ako
Irele
Iyemero
Ikosi
Igbona
Asin
Esun
Temidire
Ikunri
Ijebu-Agege
Ilamo
Among the villages in the LGA are
Aba Dam
Ita Gbangba
Aba Audu
Aba Fatunla
Arinta
Aba Ebira, Ayedun
Aba oko Ijebu
Iwetin
Aba Oke Oko, Igbona

Economy

The thriving industries in the local government are Agriculture and Lumbering which include Timber/Saw mills which include Olo Sawmill, Okejebu, Eleyero Sawmill, Ilamo and Ara Sawmill, Ara; Pharmacies which include Chuks Pharmacy and Okoli Pharmacy both located at Ikole. Ikole's land are one of the most fertile, and with high degree of accessibility to water bodies. Itapaji dam with enormous mini-hydroelectric power potential, as well as water supply opportunities for irrigation and townships is located in Ikole. Even as Oye river nearby flows into River Ele and provides substantial alluvial deposits in the Ikole plains for year-round agriculture. Ero dam in Moba is also nearby. The first major cattle ranch in Nigeria, the Oke Ako Cattle Ranch established by the then Western Region Government is located in Ikole, as is the Agriculture Development Project of the state government.
The place in the Ikole Local Government that attracts tourists from all over is the Itapaji Water Dam, Itapaji-Ekiti. Ikole is also home to several educational institutions including a campus of the Federal University, Oye and a Federal Government College.