Okon Uya

Professor OkonEdet Uya was briefly chairman of the National Electoral Commission of Nigeria (NECON), appointed by President Ibrahim Babangida after the presidential elections of 12 June 1993 had been annulled and his predecessor Humphrey Nwosu dismissed.

Uya was of Oron origins. He was Nigeria's Ambassador to Argentina, Peru, Paraguay and Chile for six years. A professor of history at the University of Calabar, Uya was appointed to conduct a new presidential poll after the annulment of the 12 June 1993 election. The National Republican Convention and Social Democratic Party were asked to present new candidates for the new presidential poll with a target of new elections by March 1994. But in the confusion that followed the annulment crisis Uya was not able to conduct the election before he was removed when General Sani Abacha assumed power. He later became Deputy Vice Chancellor and acting Vice Chancellor of the University of Calabar. The last undergraduate course he taught was Atlantic Slave Trade.