Okon Uya

Uya, a former Chairman of the National Electoral Commission of Nigeria (NECON), during the regime of Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, died Thursday afternoon at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH).

He was aged 72.

Mr Edet Uya, a staff of the University of Uyo who is a sibling of the deceased, confirmed the death of their brother.

“I feel very bad. He has been my mentor, but I thank God for everything. He gave his life to God before he passed on.

“Now, we have to give him a befitting burial as he was an international figure. He died this (Thursday) afternoon, even though he has been down for over two weeks.

“He spoke with the wife this (Thursday) morning before he gave up. He died at the Teaching Hospital. We had wanted to send him abroad, but we wanted his condition to stabilise first,” he said.

One of the late Uya’s associates, Dr Edwin Madunagu, said: “My reaction is not of a shock because, like many of us, he was not in excellent health for some time now.

“I know, philosophically, that such a thing could happen to any of us in that type of age bracket.

“But his passing on saddens me because the relationship I had with this man was the type of relationship I have with some frontline Nigerian statesmen.

“It was unique and unique in the sense that it is two-sided. One side he is seen and expected by the public, and the other is private.

“In summary, I will say Uya was a progressive and a socialist,” he said.