ORON

also called Idua Oron town, Akwa Ibom state, southeastern Nigeria. It lies at the mouth of the Cross River and is the terminus of roads from Uyo and Opobo. Oron is a coastal trade centre for the yams, cassava, fish, and palm oil and kernels produced by the Ibibio people of the hinterland. The town is the site of a hospital, a teacher-training college, the Federal Nautical College of Nigeria, and several secondary schools. Oron also has a museum (1959) that houses a notable collection of ancestral carvings of the Ibibio people. Pop. (1992 est.) 70,550.