Oron
Oron is a city in Akwa Ibom State, South South Nigeria. It is the third largest city in Akwa Ibom State after Uyo and Eket.
Understand
Oron has an estimated population of 250,000. Lying on the Cross River, Oron has a seaport and a maritime academy which is soon to become a nautical university. The predominant occupation is fishing and farming.
Oron became a division in August 1970 and in 1976, was made a Local Government Area. However, following the local government creation exercise of the federal government in 1989, Oron was split into 3 Local Government Areas of Mbo, Akwa Ibom Oron, Akwa Ibom and Okobo, Akwa Ibom. Again in September 1991, Urue-Offong/Oruko Local Government Area was carved out of Oron Local Government Area. Finally in December 1996, Udung Uko Local Government Area was further carved out of Oron.
Oron is the host of Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron.
Geography
Oron is in the tropical region and has a uniformly high temperature all the year round. The two main seasons in Oron are the dry which starts from October and ends in April and rainy season which starts in May and ends in September. There are also two prevailing winds in Oron: the South-West onshore winds which bring heavy rains and the North- East trade winds blowing across the Sahara Desert which bring in the dry season.
Natural resources
Oron is extremely fertile and is known for its topographical Oil Palm Belt, tropical rainforest, swamps, and beaches. The mangrove forests also provide timber and raw materials for medicinal purposes. There are also deposits of solid minerals such as iron, free silica or glass sand and gravel. Seafoods such as crayfish, snipers, oyster and periwinkle abound richly in Oron. Oron is also rich in oil and natural gas. Most of its oil reserves are off-shore with large amounts of untapped natural gas.
Districts
Oron is made up of four districts and various settlements which include:
Afaha Okpo District: Esin Ufot, Esuk Oro, Eyo Ekung Inyang, Eyo Obiosio, Udung Esin, Udung Ulo, Udung Usotia, Udung Ekung
Uya Oro District: Eyo-Atta, Eyo-Esu, Eyo-Ifang, Eyo-Odiong, Eyo-Okpo, Eyo-Uya, Udung Okwong, Udung Uwe
Eyo Abasi District: Akai-Ikon, Udung Ekung, Udung Ekung II, Udung Osin, Udung Uko, Udung Usotai, Uko Ukwong, Uko Uyokim
Eyotong District: Eyo-Esang-Obisung, Eyo-Esio-Uwak, Eyo-Okpo-Oyo, Eyo-Orukra-Usuyak, Eyo-Otong-Uwe, Eyo-Oyete, Udung Obisung.
Get in
By plane
Traveller wishing to access Oron by air have to make use of Victor Attah International Airport (IATA: QUO, ICAO: DNAI) which is formally known as Akwa Ibom Airport. Victor Attah International Airport is situated in Oron Nation at Okobo, Akwa Ibom State. The administrative office of the airport is located in the nearby Uruan, Uyo LGA. On average, Victor Attah International Airport (QUO) has 1 departure flight each day. The airport is 24 km (15 mi) southeast of Uyo, and 16 km (10 mi) northwest of the river port of Oron. Airlines that service Victor Attah International Airport are: Aero Contractors, Air Peace, Arik Air, Dana Air and Ibom Air.
1 Victor Attah International Airport (Akwa Ibom Airport), Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. Victor Attah International Airport serves the capital city of Uyo and neighbouring towns in the Akwa Ibom State. The airport is designed to handle larger aircraft operations including Boeing 787 and A380 aircraft. Akwa Imbom offers domestic services to Lagos and Abuja. The airport was renamed in honour of former Akwa Ibom state governor Obong Victor Attah in Nov 2018.
By bus
There are several bus transport companies in Oron that offer daily services from almost all major cities and States around the country as well as international destinations in West Africa such as Ghana, Ivory Coast/Cote D'Ivoire, Republic of Benin, Togo among others. Such bus transport companies include: ABC Transport, AKTC Limited, The Young Shall Grow Transport
2 The Young Shall Grow (YSG Transport), Bus Station Oron road, Akwa Ibom, ☏ +234 703 414 6992, oron@ysgtransport.ng. Daily 5AM-9PM. The Young Shall Grow transport is one of the leading road transportation companies in Nigeria and West Africa. ₦5,500-7,500.
Get around
Oron occupies an area of approximately 30 square miles (70 km2) in size with estimated humidity of about 74 percent and average temperature pegged at 27.5 °C . Oron is located on 4 degrees North latitude and 8 degrees East longitude. The area is a hilly area despite situated in a place a that is low in altitude, which rises 350 feet above sea level. It is an area between open grassland and tropical forest and it has an average annual rainfall of 77 inches which is 198 cm.
See
- 1 Oron Museum. The museum was established in 1958 to accommodate eight hundred known ancestral figures (ekpu) of the Oron people which are believed to be among the oldest and finest surviving wood carvings in Africa. During the civil war, many of the wood carvings were looted and the museum was severely damaged. In 1975, the museum was re-inaugurated and today houses the remains of the wooden sculptures and other ethnographic materials from across Nigeria. The museum also has displays of bunkers used during the civil war as well as a crafts village. The museum also houses some fine carvings, relics, artifacts and other valuable antiquities such as masquerade costumes traditional/instruments, pottery. The museum also contains an attractive, shaded water front garden where you can watch small boats drifting on the creeks.
Do
The Ekpe outings feature impressive displays of masquerades
Mbok
Nkwobo
Buy
There are a good number of markets and supermarkets where both visitors, travellers and the inhabitants of Oron can sell and purchase commodities from. Some of them include:
- 1 Oron Market, Oron, ☏ +234 907 169 0809. 24 hours. Basically, the market is a big one, where many food items, clothes and household equipments are sold and purchased.
- 2 Oron Beach Market, 221 Oron - Ikot Abasi Rd, Oron.
- 3 Ntar Fish Market, Oron.
- 4 Genesis Supermarket, 223 Uyo - Oron Road, By Timber Market Junction, Mbiabong Etoi, Uyo.
- 5 Pathway SuperMarket, 500 Uyo-Oron Road, Uyo, ☏ +234 708 532 9187. 8AM - 8PM.
- 6 Macmaxes Supermarket, No. 190 Oron Road, Uyo, Akwa Ibom, ☏ +234 805 758 6002. 8AM-9:30PM.
- 7 Oron Shore Market, Oron. This market offers in-store shopping.
Eat
- Oron Museum Kitchen serves light local dishes such as Isi-Ewu, pepper soup and fresh pal wine. It offers a complete taste of Akwa Ibom located at No. 1 Oron Road, Oron, Akwa Ibom State. It opens from Monday to Friday, 8AM-5PM.
- 1 Joven Restaurant, 221 Oron - Ikot Abasi Rd, 523119, Oron. Dine-in and take-way are available.
Drink
Sleep
There are a couple of hotel accommodation options in and around Oron available for both traveller and visitors to lodge in. Some of these accommodation options include:
- Jacaranda Suites, located at Edibe Qua Town, Calabar.
- 1 Sky Point Hotel & Suites, 58 Secretariat Road, Oron, ☏ +234 0816 958 6629.
- 2 May Villa Suites, Nduonyi Street, Off Ebughu Road, Oron, ☏ +234 902 400 0775.
- 3 Villademia Hotel, Oron, ☏ +234 816 740 3702.
- 4 Coco Castle Hotel, 52B, Louis Ating, Off Secretariat Road, Oron.
- 5 Real Home Hotel, Ekong Etta Street, Mekenge Layout, ☏ +234 802 919 3451.
- Axari Hotel, Murtala Muhammed Highway Road, by Zone 6 Roundabout, Ikot Ansa, 542677, calabar, ☏ +234 802 345 2268.
Stay safe
Connect
For most locations in Oron, there is coverage of the 2G/3G/4G mobile networks, but signal strength usually diminishes further away from the city center, and you might occasionally experience network outage for all or some of the mobile phone service providers in the remote areas of the city. Different networks tend to be more stable and reliable in different locations of the city at different times.