Benedict Bengioushuye Ayade, (born on 2 March 1969), is a Nigerian politician and the current Governor of Cross River State since 29 May 2015. He ran successfully for the office of Governor in April 2015 on the platform of People’s Democratic Party (PDP). Before that, he was a member of the 7th Senate of Nigeria . He was re-elected as the governor of Cross River State in the 2019 gubernatorial elections.
| Name | Benedict Bengioushuye Ayade |
|---|---|
| Position | Governor |
| Assumed Office | 29 May 2015 |
| Date of Birth | 2nd March, 1969 |
| Senatorial District | Cross River North |
| LGA | Obudu |
| Village | Kakum |
| Political Party | APC (from 20th May, 2021) |
| Spouse | Dr. Linda Ayade |
Benedict Bengioushuye Ayade was born on 2 March 1969 to the family of Mr. & Mrs. Peter Akinsheye Ayade, natives of Kakum, a village in Obudu LGA, northern Cross River State. His parents were both devout Catholics . His father worked as a Public Servant with the Water Board.
Benedict Ayade received his primary education at St. Stephens Primary School, Obudu and proceeded to Government Secondary School, Obudu, Nigeria for his secondary education.
Ayade earned his B.Sc. (Honours) in Microbiology at Ambrose Alli University in Ekpoma, Nigeria (1984 – 1988) and proceeded to the University of Ibadan (1990 – 1994) where he obtained his Ph.D. , winning the Best Doctoral Dissertation Award in Environmental Microbiology.
Ayade went on to work as a lecturer at Delta State University, Abraka where he was subsequently appointed Professor . From his work in groundwater remediation in Nigeria, Ayade invented a sewage treatment plant powered by solar energy
Chairman of Ecological Fund
Chairman of International Institute of Environmental Research
Member of Strategic Policy Advisory Council
Member of Nigeria Association of Petroleum Engineers
Member of Cross River State Poverty Alleviation Board
Ayade ventured into politics when he ran for a seat in the Nigerian Senate in the 2011 elections as a member of the PDP. Ayade was elected by accumulating a total of 91,123 votes.
During his term in the Senate , Prof. Ayade held the position of Vice-Chairman, Senate Committee on Environment and Ecology . He was also a member of other Committees such as Petroleum Downstream, Education , Drugs/Narcotics/Crime etc. Senator (Prof) Ben Ayade won the gubernatorial poll again on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the April 2015 elections in Cross River State having polled 342,016 votes ahead of the All Progressives Congress candidate in the state Mr.Odey Ochicha with 53,983 votes.
Ben Ayade recontested in the 2019 Gubernatorial Elections as a member of the People Democratic Party (PDP) and was reelected as the Governor of Cross River State.
Prof. Ayade is married to Dr. Linda Ayade and has 3 children. His hobbies include reading, playing and watching games, as well as dancing.