Benedict Bengiuoshuye Ayade is a Nigerian politician and former governor of Cross River State. Before he was elected governor in 2015, he served as the senator for Cross River North senatorial district from 2011 to 2015.
Who is Ben Ayade?
Professor Ben Ayade was born in Obudu LGA of Cross River State on 2 March 1968 to Peter Akinsheye Ayade and Beatrice Ngayi Ayade. His parents were both devout Catholics. His father worked as a public servant with the water board.[2]
Age
Senator Ben Ayade was born on March 2, 1968. He is currently 55 years old.
Tribe
Professor Ben Ayade was born in Obudu LGA of Cross River State. He hails from Kakum Village, Ipong Ward of Obudu Local Government Area of Cross River State, Nigeria.
Parents
Ben Ayade was born into the family of Peter Akinsheye Ayade (father) and Beatrice Ngayi Ayade (mother). His parents were both devout Catholics. His father worked as a public servant with the water board.
Family
Ayade is married to Dr. Linda Ayade. The couple has three children.
Education
Benedict Ayade received his primary education at St. Stephens Primary School, Obudu, and proceeded to Government Secondary School, Obudu, Nigeria, for his secondary education.
He earned his B.Sc. (Honours) from the University of Ibadan in Ibadan, Nigeria (1984–1988). He then obtained his M.Sc. in microbiology (1989–1990) and subsequently his Ph.D. in environmental microbiology from the same University of Ibadan (1990–1994), winning the Best Doctoral Dissertation Award in Environmental Microbiology.
Ayade also has an MBA (2000–2002) from Ambrose Alli University Ekpoma, Edo State. Ayade is a lawyer with an LL.B. law degree (2006–2010) from Delta State University, Abraka.
Academic career
Senator Ayade worked as a lecturer at Delta State University, Abraka, where he was subsequently appointed professor.
Political career
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, 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.[citation needed]
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, Odey Ochicha, with 53,983 votes.
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.
Controversy
Jaw-breaking phrases to qualify annual budget proposals
Ayode’s governorship tenure is well known for naming its annual budget proposals with jaw-breaking phrases.
Ayade’s first budget proposal in office in 2016 was tagged “Budget of Deep Vision” while that of 2017 was named “Budget of Infinite Transposition,” and the one for 2018 was titled: “Budget of Kinetic Crystallisation.”
In 2019, Mr Ayade gave the title as “Budget of Qabalistic Densification,” and the 2020 as “Budget of Olimpotic Meritemesis”; 2021 was “Budget of Blush and Bliss”; 2022 as “Budget of Conjugated Agglutination,” and that of 2023 was titled “Quantum Infinitum”.
Huge debt profile
According to data from the Debt Management Office (DMO), Cross River in 2021 and 2022 had total debts of N159.81 billion and N197.21 billion respectively.
Cross River’s debt grew by 75.21 per cent between 2016 and 2021, making it the fifth most indebted state in the country as of December 2021, while its total debt stock grew by 16.52 per cent from N236.30 billion in 2020 to N275.34 billion in 2021, an analysis by Premium Times reveal.
On foreign debt, the state experienced a growth rate of 45.32 per cent from $192.48 million to $279.71 million, ranking it the third most indebted state on foreign borrowings which by extension makes it one of the most exposed states to exchange rate volatility.
According to Budgit, Cross River and four other states: Lagos, Kaduna, Rivers, and Ogun — are responsible for 37.09 per cent of total subnational debt.
Disclaimer
The information in this article was curated from online sources. NewsWireNGR or its editorial team cannot independently verify all details.
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