Benedict Bengioushuye Ayade, born 2 March, 1969, is a Nigerian politician and the current Governor of Cross River State since 29 May 2015, on the platform of People’s Democratic Party (PDP). Before that, he was a member of the Senate of Nigeria.
Young Benedict Ayade received his primary education at St. Stephens Primary School, Obudu, and proceeded to Government Secondary School, Obudu, Nigeria.
He 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. The technology he developed is currently being used off-shore by oil-producing companies operating in Nigeria.
On taking up office as Governor of Cross River State, Prof. Ben Ayade launched some important infrastructure projects, including a 260 km dual-carriage Calabar-Katsina-Ala superhighway, Calabar deep seaport, and a Calabar garment factory, all of which have employed thousands of people. He also unveiled plans to build three new cities in the State. The superhighway encountered some opposition from environmental activists who complained that the road was to pass through a forest reserve and that an Environmental Impact Assessment was not done before construction started.
Ben Ayade is an accomplished scholar and speaker at numerous high-level events such as the Summit organised by the United Nations Secretariat for Climate Change when he led African Governors to the climate change negotiations in Paris in December 2015. For his outstanding performances in leadership, Senator Ben Ayade was in 2016 awarded the Governor of the Year, by Vanguard Newspapers.
