History of the University of Uyo (UNIUYO)

The University of Uyo (UNIUYO) is a federal university in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, established on 1 October 1991 when the Federal Government took over and converted the state-owned University of Cross River State. It has grown from that single campus into a multi-campus university with more than a dozen faculties and a student body in the tens of thousands.

From a practising school to a federal university

The site UNIUYO now occupies has a long history in education. It began in the 1930s as a practising school, became a Teacher Training College in the 1940s, and was upgraded to an Advanced Teachers’ Training College in the 1960s. In 1975 it became a College of Education, and in 1983 the then Cross River State Government turned it into the University of Cross River State (UNICROSS).

When Akwa Ibom State was carved out of Cross River State in 1987 with Uyo as its capital, the university was jointly owned by both states until the Federal Government stepped in. It was first proposed as a Federal University of Technology, but by a letter dated 24 September 1991 the Federal Government resolved instead to convert it into a conventional university. Academic activities began in the 1991/92 session.

Campuses today

UNIUYO runs a multi-campus system across Uyo and its outskirts:

Permanent Site (Main Campus) – central administration and the science, engineering, environmental studies and agriculture faculties, plus the Postgraduate School.
Town Campus – within Uyo city, home to the arts, education and social sciences faculties and the University Library.
Annex Campus – Business Administration, Law and General Studies.
Ime Umanah Campus (Ediene Abak) – Pre-Degree, JUPEB and other special programmes.

Growth since 1991

UNIUYO opened with fewer than 1,000 students in its first session. By 2019 its student population had grown to roughly 28,700, and it now teaches across more than a dozen faculties as well as a Postgraduate School and a School of Continuing Education. Though classed as a third-generation Nigerian university, it competes with older first-generation institutions and runs its own campus radio station, UNIUYO FM 100.7.

Leadership

The university is headed by a Vice-Chancellor, with a Chancellor as its ceremonial head. Professor Christopher Nyong Ekong, a professor of monetary and development economics, became the ninth substantive Vice-Chancellor in June 2026, succeeding Professor Nyaudoh Ndaeyo, who had served as the eighth Vice-Chancellor from 2020. Alhaji Adamu Maje, the Emir of Hadejia, has served as Chancellor since 2015.