town, Ekiti state, southwestern Nigeria, on the road from Akure to Ado-Ekiti. A major collecting point for cocoa, it also serves as an agricultural trade centre (yams, cassava 【manioc】, rice, corn 【maize】, palm oil and kernels, okra, pumpkins) for the Ekiti branch of the Yoruba people. Ikere-Ekiti has government and Christian teacher-training colleges; there is also a hospital. The town is headquarters of the Ekiti South Local Government Council. Pop. (2006) local government area, 147,355.