Ayade Benedict Bengioushuye
Ayade Benedict Bengioushuye is a Nigerian politician. They have contested 2 elections (1 win, 1 loss) across 2 parties, receiving 381K total votes. Most recent: 2023 Nigerian Senate Elections as All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate.
Political Career
Biography
Benedict Bengiuoshuye Ayade was born on March 2, 1968 in Obudu Local Government Area of Cross River State, Nigeria. His parents, Peter Akinsheye Ayade and Beatrice Ngayi Ayade, were devout Catholics, and his father worked in the public sector with the water board.
He attended St. Stephens Primary School in Obudu before proceeding to Government Secondary School, Obudu. Ayade later earned a B.Sc. (Honours) in microbiology from the University of Ibadan (1984–1988), followed by an M.Sc. in environmental microbiology (1989–1990) and a Ph.D. in environmental microbiology (1990–1994), winning the Best Doctoral Dissertation Award.
After academia, he obtained an MBA from Ambrose Alli University Ekpoma (2000–2002) and an LL.B. from Delta State University Abraka (2006–2010). He later pursued an additional LL.B. in Law from the University of Calabar, where he worked as a lecturer and was later appointed professor at Delta State University.
Ayade is known for his contributions to groundwater remediation and invented a solar-powered sewage treatment plant. He has held roles such as Chairman of the Ecological Fund, International Institute of Environmental Research, and Strategic Policy Advisory Council.
Entering politics, he ran for the Nigerian Senate in 2011 as a PDP candidate, winning 91,123 votes. During his Senate term (2011–2015), he served as vice-chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Ecology and was a member of committees on Petroleum Downstream, Education, and Drugs/Narcotics/Crime.
He later became governor of Cross River State, first elected in 2015 with 342,016 votes, and was re-elected in 2019 with 381,484 votes. His tenure included awards such as Vanguard Governor of the Year (2016), Champion Newspaper Governor of the Year (2019), and Leadership Governor of the Year (2020).
In 2023, he contested the Cross River North Senate seat as an APC candidate but lost to Sen. Jarigbe Agom. He was invested as a Knight of St. John (KSJ) in 2019 and awarded the national honour of Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) in 2022. Married with three children, his hobbies include reading, sports, and dancing.
Party Positions
Policy positions from the All Progressives Congress (APC) party manifesto.
Agriculture
Launches the Irrigate Nigeria Project as a public-private partnership to develop small-scale irrigation and water catchment systems using modern technology to boost agricultural productivity.
Security & Defense
Will deploy modern aerial surveillance and advanced technology to monitor and deter intrusions into oil pipelines, power stations, and other critical national infrastructure in real time.
Environment & Climate
Accelerates the environmental cleanup and re-establishment of fisheries and profitable aquacultural activities in the Niger-Delta region to counter violent extremism and poverty-driven disaffection.
Economy & Trade
Will implement the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and additional favorable policies to attract investment in deep-water assets within 6 months, including encouraging signature bonus negotiations and royalty reliefs.
Infrastructure
Creates regional industrial hubs in specific zones (North West, North East, South East, South South, South West, North Central) to focus on labor-intensive manufacturing, with tailored investments (e.g., textiles, dry ports, glass, pottery, solid minerals, regulated mining).
Enterprise grant support
Work with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to simplify loan processes for commercial banks, mandate federally owned banks to provide low-cost loans to youth-led enterprises, and expand business incubation centers to support youth innovation.
Energy
Will mandate gas metering equipment on all facilities where gas flaring occurs within 6 months and establish a special enforcement unit to monitor compliance with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) on gas flaring reduction, with non-compliance leading to financial penalties for affected communities.
Governance & Reform
Reserve at least 3 cabinet positions for individuals under 40 and 6 more positions for members under the age of 40, and mandate that at least 20% of political appointments to Ministries/Dangomas (MDAs) be reserved for individuals under 40.
Education
Raises the priority of addressing out-of-school children, establishes a task force to review and strengthen programs like school feeding, and aims to reduce disaffected youth recruitment by violent groups.
Healthcare
Will establish a network of upgraded, equipped, and staffed general hospitals in every Local Government Area, tertiary facilities in each State, and world-class specialist hospitals in each geo-political zone to improve healthcare accessibility and quality.
Technology & Digital
Supports the development of MSMEs through partnerships with fintech players to expand access to capital and business development services.
Reliefs and scholarships
Commits to a conditional income support program requiring recipients to meet human capital goals (school attendance, healthcare, nutrition) in exchange for payments.
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