Engr. James Ogbuka Umekwe Elected CISA President

James-Umekwe

James Ogbuka Umekwe, President. Council of Igbo States in Americas (CISA)

The Council of Presidents of the Council of Igbo States in Americas (CISA) announces the election of Engr. James Ogbuka Umekwe as its new president effective January 2022.

Engr. Umekwe takes over from Attorney Ozo Bobby Aniekwu (Enugu), whose tenure expired December 31, 2021. CISA Bylaws stipulate a 2-year rotational presidency among Igbo speaking states in alphabetical order. The batton is now with Abia State.

Engr. Umekwe is from Abam/Arochukwu Local Government Area, Abia State, Nigeria. He is a graduate of the Federal Polytechnic, Nekede Nigeria; University of Innsbruck in Austria; and University of the District of Columbia in Washington D.C. He has a bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Civil Engineering.

He is currently the Assistant Division Chief at the Maryland State Department of Transportation (MDOT) where he is leading the Maryland State Truck Weigh and Inspection Stations Program.

His professional and public service background also includes membership of the American Society of Civil Engineers, American Association of States Highway Transportation Officials, and Institute of Transportation Engineers.

Prior to his election as President, Engr. Umekwe was the founder and president of Clarion Call Inc. USA, an organization that carters for the poor and less privileged in rural communities, and founder of Ogbuka Umekwe Hope Foundation (OUHF), whose Rock Medical Center offers free medical and surgical care to the needy. His humanitarian network is exemplified in his partnership with the University of Toledo Medical Center, Ohio for the first historical Kidney Transplant in Southeast Nigeria and related services across hospitals in Umuahia, Lagos, Abuja and Ogun State among other centers.

Engr. Umekwe’s long history of philanthropy, community building and advocacy includes service as President General of Abia State Development Union in the Americas (Washington DC, Virginia, Maryland) and co-founder and president of Abam National Organizatin in the Americas.