Enobong Ebebe Ukpanah Studied 1966-1967

Enobong Ukpanah studied at Yaba Technical Institute and was awarded a Diploma (Civil/Building) in 1960. He was then employed by the Ministry of Works, Enugu, and accepted the In-Service Scholarship offered by the then Eastern Regional Government to study Architecture at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where he obtained his Bachelor of Architecture (Honours) Degree in 1964. Upon completing his studies, he was promoted and served as an Architect with the Ministry of Works in Enugu until 1967. In 1966, he was admitted for post-graduate studies at the Architectural Association (AA), London, and graduated in June 1967 with a Post Graduate Certificate specializing in Educational Building and Housing.  He returned to Nigeria during the civil war and, upon the creation of the South Eastern State, became the pioneer Architect at the Ministry of Works in Calabar.  In that capacity, he played a very significant role in planning and laying a solid foundation for the infrastructural, educational, and economic development of the then South Eastern State. In 1969, Arc. Ukpanah passed both the Royal Institute of British Architects and the Nigerian Institute of Architects Professional Practice Examinations.  In 1970, he was appointed Architectural Consultant to the National Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Commission, Lagos. In the same year, he resigned from the Ministry of Works, Calabar, and left the South Eastern State Civil Service to establish the first indigenous Architectural firm in South Eastern State – Ukpanah and Ukpanah Associates, where he served as the Principal Consultant/Chief Executive.  Arc. Ukpanah, through the firm, was instrumental in the training of several architects in both the private and public sectors of Cross River State and the subsequently created Akwa Ibom State. Arc. Ukpanah was personally responsible for the planning, design, and/or development of many notable projects in and outside Nigeria, including:

• Former Mercantile Bank Building (now Okoi Arikpo House) Calabar, and the bank’s former branch buildings at Uyo, Eket and Ikot Ekpene;
• Leventis Supermarket Building, Calabar;
• Ibrahim Babangida College of Agriculture, Obubra;
• Pamil Limited’s office, Abak;
• Prisons Staff Training School, Kaduna;
• Nigerian Embassy, Guinea Bissau;
• Cross River State Housing Corporation Estate, Calabar.

 Arc. Ukpanah retired from active professional practice in 1984 to concentrate on religious studies, activities, and evangelism.

 Aniekan Ukpanah, 2026

 Additional Sources

• Aniekan Ukpanah, correspondence with Edward Bottoms, 26th January, 2026.
• Architectural Association Student Register, 1945-71. AA Archives
• Architectural Association Council Minutes, 24th July, 1967. AA Archives
• Architectural Association Membership Register, 1969. AA Archives
• Kalendar of the RIBA, Royal Institute of British Architects, 1965, p290
• RIBA Journal, Royal Institute of British Architects, 1969, Vol. 76, p A-62
• RIBA Journal, Royal Institute of British Architects, 1974, Vol. 81, Np.9-12, pA-75
• Federal Republic of Nigeria Official Gazette, Lagos, 11th November, 1976, Vol. 63, No. 55, p1842