Chief James Ume, the Chairman of Unubiko Foundation and Publisher of THE WHISTLER newspapers, has been named the Philanthropist of the Year 2024 by The Reporters Magazine.
The award ceremony was held on Saturday night, February 15, 2025, in Abuja.
The plaque was presented to Chief Ume by Mr. Garba Shehu, the former Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari.
Accompanying Ume to the event was the Chief Corporate Communications Officer (CCCO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Femi Soneye.
The latest recognition adds to the long list of awards received by the businessman and media entrepreneur for his extensive philanthropic contributions.
In January 2023, Chief Ume was honoured with The Sun Newspapers Humanitarian Service Icon Award 2022 by The Sun Publishing Company Ltd. The award ceremony took place at the Expo Convention Centre, Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Ume’s humanitarian efforts have touched countless lives. Through the Unubiko Foundation, he has dedicated himself to providing support for the needy.
He has rebuilt critical community structures, including a customary court handed over to an Abia community at a cost exceeding N150m. His philanthropic works also include the reconstruction of a Presbyterian Church, a women’s development centre, and the Ovukwu-Abam Secondary School, Atan-Abam, valued at over N500m.
Ume’s commitment to education is evident in his numerous scholarship programmes. He has empowered hundreds of widows and awarded scholarships to at least 200 students in Arochukwu Local Government Area of Abia State.
In 2020, the businessman covered WAEC fees for all students in Atan-Abam and donated 100 brand-new laptops to trainees in digital economy programme. Additionally, he provided transformers to improve rural electrification and financed 44 boreholes for the 27 villages in Abam.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Chief Ume provided relief materials to various communities and organizations in Abia. He distributed Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) across Abam communities in Arochukwu LGA, donated PPEs to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Umuahia, and provided books worth over N6m to the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) national secretariat, as well as its Abia and Abuja Councils.
His philanthropic outreach also covered medical bills for indigent patients and sponsorship of journalism capacity-building programmes.
Due to these gestures, the Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA) Resource Centre in December 2023 conferred the Gani Fawehinmi Impact and Integrity Awards (GFIIA) on Chief Ume during its 6th GFIIA and lecture in Lagos.
HEDA acknowledged his dedication to openness, honesty, accountability, and transparency in both public and private life.
In August 2024, Chief Ume was conferred with an Honorary Doctorate Degree in Philanthropy and Human Investment by Weldios University of Management and Technology, Benin Republic. Prior to the award, he was recognised as Africa’s Patriotic and Philanthropic Personality of the Year during the third symposium of the All-Africa Students Union (AASU) at the Hilton Garden Hotel in Windhoek, Namibia.
In December 2022, Ume handed over a reconstructed magistrate court, abandoned for 89 years, to the Abia State government.
The facility now serves 26 communities in Abam, Arochukwu LGA. On December 26, 2023, he handed over the Onyerubi Comprehensive Secondary School in Ndi Oji Abam, which was rebuilt by the Unubiko Foundation.
In March 2024, the Unubiko Foundation paid the West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) fees for approximately 200 indigent students at Ovukwu Abam Secondary School, Atan Abam, and Onyerubi Comprehensive Secondary School, Ndi Oji Abam.
The Onyerubi school, initially built in 1996 but left in disrepair, was reconstructed through a N250m intervention by the Unubiko Foundation.
Shortly after, Ume announced the launch of a N300m scholarship grant for Abia State students, which he unveiled during a thanksgiving service at the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria, Atan Abam.
Through the Unubiko Foundation, Chief Ume has consistently provided for the less privileged in Abia State and beyond. His philanthropy spans multiple areas, including widow empowerment, scholarships, digital training, rural electrification, healthcare, and access to clean water.
Garba Shehu Presents THE WHISTLER Publisher Chief James Ume With Philanthropy Award is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
Source: The Whistler
