Okon Edet Uya (12 June 1947 – 17 April 2014) was briefly the chairman of the National Electoral Commission of Nigeria (NECON), appointed by President

Ibrahim Babangida Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (born 17 August 1941) is a Nigerian statesman and military dictator who ruled as military president of Nigeria from 1985 when he orchestrated a coup d'état against his military and political arch-rival Muhammadu ...

after the presidential elections of the 12 June 1993 had been annulled and the previous chairman,

Humphrey Nwosu Humphrey Nwosu (2 October 1941 – 20 October 2024) was a Nigerian civil servant who was chairman of the National Electoral Commission (NEC). Appointed by President Ibrahim Babangida, he held office from 1989 to 1993. Early life and career Nwos ...

, dismissed. Uya was of

Oron Oron may refer to: "Light" or someone that is "being able" or "capable" of doing anything posible or impossible. *Oron people a multi ethnic group of people living In the lower Cross River basin. *Oron Nation, one of the major states in the old Ca ...

origins. He spent six years as a senior official in Nigeria's diplomatic corps, serving as Nigeria's ambassador in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

and

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

. When a professor of history at the

University of Calabar The University of Calabar is a federal university situated in Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria. It is one of Nigeria's second-generation federal universities. The University of Calabar was a campus of the University of Nigeria until 1975. ...

, Uya was appointed to conduct a new presidential poll after the annulment of the 12 June 1993 election. The

National Republican Convention The National Republican Convention was a Nigerian political party established by the government of General Ibrahim Babangida and ultimately disbanded by the military regime of General Sani Abacha in 1993. Alignment The party was organized to ca ...

and

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

were asked to present new candidates for a poll that it was hoped would be held by March 1994. But the confusion that followed the annulment crisis prevented Uya from conducting the election before General

Sani Abacha Sani Abacha (; (20 September 1943 – 8 June 1998) was a Nigerian military dictator and statesman who ruled Nigeria with an iron fist as military head of state from 1993 following a palace coup d'état until his death in 1998. Abacha's seiz ...

assumed power and dismissed him from his office. He later became the Deputy Vice Chancellor and acting Vice Chancellor of the

. The last undergraduate course that he taught concerned the Atlantic slave trade.

Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Uya, Okon Oron people 1947 births 2014 deaths Ambassadors of Nigeria to Argentina Ambassadors of Nigeria to Peru Ambassadors of Nigeria to Paraguay Ambassadors of Nigeria to Chile Academic staff of the University of Calabar Nigerian diplomats People from Akwa Ibom State