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.

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.

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

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.

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:



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.

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:



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.

Go next

 * Calabar
 * Ikot Ekpene
 * Uyo
 * Eket