PFN Confirms Uma Ukpai's Demise

 

Priscilla Akpanettot 

...Dedicates 40th Anniversary Thanksgiving Service to His Memory

The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) has confirmed the death of Rev. (Dr.) Uma Ukpai, founder of the Uma Ukpai Evangelistic Association.

The confirmation was made by the national leadership of the Fellowship on Wednesday, October 15, 2025 at a press briefing in Uyo.

Addressing the Conference, PFN's national President, Bishop Francis Wale Oke described the late octogenarian as an enduring voice of revival in Nigeria’s Christian movement.

Represented by the national Secretary, Rev. (Dr.) Cosmas Ikechukwu,
Bishop Oke said the transition was a great loss to the entire PFN family, the Church and the christendom.

He furthered that the late clergyman was one of the most comforting and enduring voices of evangelism and revival in Nigeria’s history, through his crusades, interdenominational outreaches, and evangelistic association, where he brought healing, salvation, and unity to millions.

Going down memory lane, he recalled that 40 years ago, one of his crusades in Lagos gave birth to the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, which today boasts of over 65 million members across Nigeria and the diaspora where they remain a vibrant arm of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).

“Rev. Uma Ukpai birthed the PFN through his crusades, nurtured it to maturity, and remained a pillar of strength and faith. He was not just an icon to the Church or Nigeria, but to the world at large. Though he is gone, the PFN will celebrate him for all he stood for,” he said.

His passing, they noted, comes on the eve of PFN’s 40th Anniversary, serving as a solemn reminder of the rich heritage of faith laid by the founding fathers of the fellowship.

“In honour of his life and legacy, the PFN at 40 Thanksgiving Celebration shall be officially dedicated to his memory as a national thanksgiving unto God for the gift and treasure he was to our generation,” he said.

The PFN's 40th Anniversary Celebration is scheduled to commence on October 19, 2025, with a Thanksgiving Service across the 36 States and the FCT, culminating in a National Thanksgiving Service on October 23, 2025, at the Old Arena, Redemption City, Lagos.

"The event which was originally planned as a grand anniversary celebration, has now been restructured as a thanksgiving service in honour of the late evangelist, who had been slated as the Speaker before his passing on October 6, 2025.

Earlier, the PFN delegation, led by Bishop David Bakare, Archbishop Emma Isong and Dr. Sylvanus Ukafia, joined other men of God in offering prayers for the NUJ State Working Committee and members, seeking God’s continued grace upon their work and service to humanity.