- How memories of his dead children made him cry
- How He Comforted Christians Before Death
- Emmah Isong: We’ll Need 1000 Pastors To Inherit His Anointing
Ofonime UMANAH/Ruth Nworie
He died in his sleep on October 6, 2025. But it took his Ohafia, Abia State, family members a week before they could announce to the world that one of the few surviving Pentecostal Generals in Nigeria, Dr Uma Ukpai had passed away.
The news of his death has, expectedly, shattered the Christian community, as he was seen as one of God’s battle axes, who preached the gospel in all parts of the country and in most parts of the world.
He was known to have been endowed with a phenomenal anointing for spectacular miracles. Last month, as he preached at the Christian Central Chapel International, CCCI, during their annual Free Indeed programme, Ukpai had recalled sad memories of how he lost his children, but he was to use it as a comforting balm for those who attended the programme.
Strangely, he was at that event with his family members, including children, something he hardly ever did before. TNN learnt that his appearance at the CCCI, where he went to preach for one of his beloved children, Archbishop Emmah Isong, who is the General Overseer, was his last public preaching engagement, as he was unable to preach for any other person publicly, till last Monday when he died.
At that religious crusade, Ukpai had said “we need a relationship with this awesomely awesome God — a relationship that, in your hour of giving and testing, this God must speak to you. He is the master of His game.
“Do you know I lost four people in one day, and I heard God say to me, ‘Uma, don’t cry. Be a man.’ As I recall what happened that day, I’m in tears now(he sobbed). Why? I think I passed the exam — I did not cry. One of them was a precious daughter.
“In your hour of need, please rely on this Almighty God who loves us beyond what words can say. My brethren, one thing you must not forget: everyone came out of her mother’s womb naked, and naked shall we all return. You are our God, you are our Maker. The Lord gave, the Lord has takes away. Glory be to God.
“In all these things, don’t sin against God nor charge Him foolishly. The tendency to abuse God and insult Him is so strong, and Satan will shame you to insult God and abuse Him foolishly. Please, don’t oblige him.”
Those who listened to him that day may have been confused, as to his reasons for making reference to his dead children who left him decades ago, and why he also urged the people not to cry if they were faced with such situations, as it was God alone who could give and take life.
By Monday when the news of death hit the globe, some of the people who had listened to that last public sermon which he delivered in Calabar, told TNN that Ukpai must have had a premonition of his death, hence his charge to people not to cry, because he was going back to his maker.
In an interview on Monday, Isong who is also the vice president, south of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, a fellowship that was founded by Ukpai, told TNN that news of his death had to be delayed by the family because of what he called the strong culture of the Ohafia people.
He said: “It is the circumstances of his departure that made the family break the ice today. That is one full week. You know African culture — there are some people that will pass, and you have to respect their family.
“And Ohiofa people have a strong culture. Even though the man is a global preacher, you have to make sure the family met and decides.
“He ordained me as a prophet, and I am writing a book on ‘what my father(Uma Ukpai) told me.’
“Here, was the last sermon Dr. Uma Ukpai preached. That was in September during the “Free Indeed” programme. It happened that in his feebleness, he came with his wife, his children, his daughters-in-law —maybe 15 to 20 people came with him that day.
“We enjoyed it like a holiday. Saturday, Sunday — it was like his transitory visit. Daddy prayed and said, ‘The Lord giveth, the Lord taketh.” That was his message- that we came to the world naked and that we are going back naked.
“Then the reminiscence was the four people that died, including his two children, in the early part of his ministry. He wept openly with the microphone in his hand and said, when God takes our loved ones, we should not cry, we should not curse God, or speak evil of God. And that if we promise we will not cry, we should come out as an altar call. I didn’t understand — people came out, he prayed for us, and we blessed him, and he blessed us.
“He left, and I think a few days after, he took ill — and then from one place to another until he passed. I think that day, coming to our church, was his last ever public meeting. There were a lot of public meetings he was to do this year — flyers and billboards are everywhere — but that was the one he was able to make. It was the last time he held the microphone openly.
“It’s more like a privilege to us — a mixed feeling of missing a father, and also a privilege that the father’s last bus stop was the son’s. According to him, one of his best sons, so I am honoured.”
The interview continued this way:
Have you spoken with the wife? What is she saying, how is she taking this?
“Several times. The wife is a strong woman — of course, by God’s grace, she is a strong woman of God. She is an apostle in her own right. She is the administrator of the ministry. As a former school principal, she has the ability. She is in her 70s and has witnessed children and grandchildren. Spiritually, she is strong.
So who will possibly — who can possibly take over the place of this general that has gone?
“Maybe a thousand people will try, because if you carry the spirit of Uma Ukpai and put it in one person, you will need one thousand people to spread it. For Moses in the Bible, God brought 70 people to spread his own — not to talk of Uma Ukpai, who is greater than John the Baptist.
How is PFN taking this?
Dr. Uma, through his crusade that was established 40 years ago — 40 years anniversary — and Dr. Uma was our major speaker. We hope this is not prophetic, to enter another “bye-bye,” to enter the next level.”
Ukpai was a Nigerian Christian evangelist, preacher, and the founder of the Uma Ukpai Evangelistic Association (UUEA), known for his large-scale healing crusades across Africa and beyond.
Born January 7, 1945, he became a Christian in 1958, began his ministry as a teenager, and founded the UUEA in 1975. Despite enduring personal tragedies, including the death of two children in a car accident, he remained dedicated to his ministry, which impacted millions and influenced the founding of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN).
Early life and calling
- Born: January 7, 1945, in Asaga, Ohafia, Abia State, Nigeria.
* Early challenges: Lost his father at a young age, which shaped his compassion for widows and orphans.
* Conversion: Became a born-again Christian in 1958 after a meeting with a preacher.
* Ministry start: Began preaching as a teenager.
Ministry and impact
- Evangelistic Association:
Founded the Uma Ukpai Evangelistic Association (UUEA) in 1975, a non-denominational ministry based in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.
Crusades:
Held numerous large-scale crusades across Nigeria and other parts of the world, often marked by testimonies of healing and miracles.
Mentorship:
Mentored thousands of pastors and evangelists and was known for giving to many.
Founding role:
Was a founding leader of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN).
Humanitarian work:
Established institutions like the Uma Ukpai Medical Centre and the Uma Ukpai School of Theology.
Education and family
- Education:
Studied in Nigeria, the United Kingdom, and the United States, earning degrees in Divinity and Diplomas in Journalism.
Personal life:
Was married to Pastor Philomena Uma Ukpai, and they had eight biological children and one adopted child.
Tragedy:
He and his wife experienced a profound personal tragedy when they lost two children in a single car accident.
Legacy
- Resilience: His unwavering faith through personal tragedy strengthened his message of hope, and he continued his ministry after his loss.
Enduring influence: His work is remembered for its impact on millions of lives, and his legacy continues through the UUEA and the many ministers he mentored.
He died at the age of 80.
