The 2026 GTCO Food and Drink Festival transformed Plot 1, Water Corporation Drive, Oniru, Victoria Island into a cultural feast from Friday 1st – Sunday 3rd May, 2026.
Vendors like Abacha Republic, Ewaagoyinmide, and 202 others drew steady crowds with affordable plates and bold plans for an even bigger 2027 edition.
Abacha Republic
Chief Executive Director of Abacha Republic, Mrs. Umenwa Mary Jacinta, confirmed she will “enroll powerful for 2027 GTCO food and drink festival” and “dispatch her cultural troupe to the festival.”
Speaking at the venue, Jacinta said she isn’t waiting for next year. “She said she long for holidays edition too,” and plans to “bring a bumpa for next year” alongside her Anambra cultural troupe of dancers, which many expect to make the pavilion memorable.
Despite inflation, Abacha Republic kept prices unchanged. “She maintained the last year’s price list.” The menu: okpa at ₦1,000, palm wine at ₦3,000, isiewu at ₦7,000, with half portions at ₦3,000.
A foodies named Tomi Taiwo compliment Jacinta assertion of her food as she called the food “pleasant and the aroma is fine and nice,” adding, “I think it’s nice. It’s very nice. I’m not taking the protein, but the fish is very nice. It’s well done. Not too low, not too much seasoning and all of that. Well seasoning. Very nice. Yeah!
On payments methods, Jacinta praised GTCO’s platform. “She praises the GTCO seamless transfer option. She narrates a smoothie mode of her financial transactions.” Profit, she said, “has been Good.”
Reflecting on her debut, she recalled: “Guess my first year, I thought I prepared the rates of patronage… In comparison with before. 1000 people getting super some get something in terms of people, it’s easy for customers to pay if given opportunity next. time not year, am coming to the holiday edition”
Abacha’s cassava base is carb-heavy with minimal protein. With palm oil, ugba, and fish, a full plate reaches 650-800 kcal, offering protein, fiber, vitamin A, and iron. It’s energy-dense and gluten-free but high in fat and sodium. Healthier with less oil, more veggies.
Like Mother, Like Daughter Ewaagoyinmide,
Also drawing attention is Ewaagoyinmide, led by its CEO, Mrs. Ayomide Thompson. “Mrs Ayomide Thompson 3 years ago float her own ewa agoyin business.”
She first applied during a GTCO Food and Drinks festival holiday edition “and the experience has been history unstoppable.”
She said she “would never miss any edition.”
Thompson urged GTCO to “continue with the support and must not stop it especially the holiday edition that gave her opportunity as many people are on the queue for them.”
She thanked GTCO “for giving them the opportunity for entrepreneurship.”
Her prices stayed accessible: ewaagoyinmide local combo at ₦4,000, five Star combo at ₦7,000, Continental combo at ₦8,500, while the ofada rice she added to the ewaagoyinmide is ₦6,500. “Thomas faces is very impressive as she smiles to the bank,” as she smiles at our crew.
On her journey, Thompson said, “We came to GTCO food and drink festival 2026. The best that might be. So when we first started, I started with my moms but now I have my own. Called Ewaagoyinmide as you can view.” Asked about this year’s patronage, she replied, “no competition we enjoy our sales.
Ewa Agoyin combines protein-rich, high-fiber mashed beans with calorie-dense palm oil stew. A typical plate has 400-500 kcal, offering iron, folate, and satiety.
Benefits: filling, plant-based.
Drawback: high fat/sodium if sauce is oily. Healthier with less oil, added veggies.
Vendors Bet on 2027
Both CEOs are already looking ahead. Jacinta’s Anambra troupe and Thompson’s expansion point to a louder, larger 2027 edition. With isiewu, okpa, palm wine, and ewa agoyin selling at “very affordable price,” the festival continues to blend commerce, culture, and community.
Lagos diners left Oniru with full plates and marked calendars. As Jacinta put it, the experience was “amazing and fantastic.”
For GTCO, vendor loyalty and steady foot traffic suggest the recipe is working —and the next holiday edition can’t come soon enough.
