Barnabas Andyar Iyorhyer Gemade (born 4 September 1948) is a
Nigerian
Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...
politician, formerly National Chairman of the
People's Democratic Party (PDP), who was elected Senator for the
Benue North East constituency of
Benue State
Benue State is one of the North Central states in Nigeria with a population of about 4,253,641 in 2006 census. The state was created in 1976 among the 7 states created at that time.The state derives its name from the Benue River which is t ...
,
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
on 9 April 2011 national elections. He is currently a member of All Progressive Congress (APC)
Early career
Born on 4 September 1948 in Benue State, Gemade is a chief from the
Tiv ethnic group.
[
He holds a Tiv traditional title of ''Nom-I-Yange-I-Tiv''.][
Gemade was the chief executive officer of the Benue Cement Company (BCC) from 1985 to 1992, and was said to have been highly effective in this position.][
Gemade was a member of the 1994–1995 Constitutional Conference during the military regime of General ]Sani Abacha
Sani Abacha (20 September 1943 – 8 June 1998) was a Nigerian military officer and politician who ruled as the military head of state of Nigeria from 1993 until his death in 1998. He seized power on 17 November 1993 in the last successful c ...
.[
He has held the positions of Secretary (Minister) of Works and National Chairman of the Congress of National Consensus party, which was one of the parties sponsored by military director, General ]Sani Abacha
Sani Abacha (20 September 1943 – 8 June 1998) was a Nigerian military officer and politician who ruled as the military head of state of Nigeria from 1993 until his death in 1998. He seized power on 17 November 1993 in the last successful c ...
.[
]
PDP chief
In the first national convention of the PDP after the April 1999 general elections, Gemade was elected National chairman after a tough competition with one of the party founders, Chief Sunday Awoniyi.[
He succeeded Solomon Lar, the first chairman of the party, and was elected in part due to zoning rules which favoured giving the post to a northerner.][
Gemade initially had the solid backing of President ]Olusegun Obasanjo
Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo, , ( ; yo, Olúṣẹ́gun Ọbásanjọ́ ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian political and military leader who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its presid ...
.[
However, before the 2001 National Convention held on 9–10 November, he was facing strong opposition from powerful interests in the party.][
When he tried to be elected chairman for a second term with Dr. ]Okwesilieze Nwodo
Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo (Okwy) (born 28 July 1950 in Nsukka, Nigeria) is a Nigerian politician who was elected Governor of Enugu State in January 1992 during the Nigerian Third Republic.
Later he became the national secretary, national chairman, ...
as secretary, the two lost out to chief Audu Ogbeh who became chairman and Vincent Ogbulafor
Vincent Eze Ogbulafor (24 May 1949 – 6 October 2022) was a Nigerian politician.
He was the Chairman of the Opposition, as a member of the People's Democratic Party of Nigeria. Prior to this post, he was National Secretary of the party. He res ...
who became secretary.[
In the 2003 PDP presidential primaries, Gemade lost to former president ]Olusegun Obasanjo
Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo, , ( ; yo, Olúṣẹ́gun Ọbásanjọ́ ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian political and military leader who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its presid ...
, who went on to be re-elected.
In April 2003, he was expelled from the PDP on account of alleged anti-party activities.
The main reason was that in the 2003 elections for Governor of Benue State he had supported the candidate of the United Nigeria Peoples Party (UNPP) rather than the PDP candidate, Chief George Akume
George Akume (born 27 December 1953) is a Nigerian politician who is the Minister of Special Duties and Inter-governmental Affairs. He was a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He was the Minority Leader of the Senate from June 2011 to ...
.[
Later he was readmitted to the party and became a member of the board of trustees. In a January 2011 interview, he described the turbulence in the leadership of the PDP in the early years as healthy, showing competition between individuals rather than a power-sharing arrangement between the different groups.
In a November 2010 interview, Gemade supported the decision to allow incumbent President ]Goodluck Jonathan
Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan (born 20 November 1957)Lawson Heyford, ''The Source'' (Lagos), 11 December 2006. is a Nigerian politician who served as the President of Nigeria from 2010 to 2015. He lost the 2015 presidential election to fo ...
to run for election, despite the fact that some felt zoning rules meant the candidature should go to a northerner. He disputed that Jonathan's candidature could lead to the breakup of the country, and noted as a member of a minority ethnic group in the north that the minority groups had always been strong supporters of national unity.
Senator
Gemade was a strong supporter of Joseph Akaagerger
Lt. Colonel Joseph Iorshagher Akaagerger (born 5 May 1956) was the Military Administrator of Katsina State, Nigeria from August 1998 to 29 May 1999.
After the return to democracy, in April 2007 he was elected to the Senate representing Benue ...
when he was elected Senator for Benue North East in 2007. In the April 2011 elections, he decided to challenge Akaagerger for the Senate seat.
Several incidents occurred in Benue in run-up to the election, culminating in the shooting of General Lawrence Onoja. Gemade was among leaders questioned about the violence by the State Security Services in March 2011.
Others questioned included George Akume
George Akume (born 27 December 1953) is a Nigerian politician who is the Minister of Special Duties and Inter-governmental Affairs. He was a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He was the Minority Leader of the Senate from June 2011 to ...
, Iyorchia Ayu
Iyorchia Ayu (born 15 November 1952) is a Nigerian politician; he is the current Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Working Committee. A former Nigerian Senator, he was elected President of the Senate during the Nigerian Thi ...
and Daniel Saror
Daniel Iyorkegh Saror was elected Senator for the Benue North East constituency of Benue State, Nigeria at the start of the Nigerian Fourth Republic, running on the People's Democratic Party (PDP) platform. He took office on 29 May 1999.
He ...
.
In the 9 April 2011 elections for Senator of Benue North East, Gemade ran on the PDP platform and won 229,682 votes, beating Akaagerger who had moved to the Action Congress of Nigeria
The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), formerly known as Action Congress (AC), was a Nigerian political party formed via the merger of a faction of Alliance for Democracy, the Justice Party, the Advance Congress of Democrats, and several othe ...
and obtained 143,978 votes.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gemade, Barnabas Andyar
Living people
1948 births
People from Benue State
Peoples Democratic Party members of the Senate (Nigeria)
National Working Committee chairs
Peoples Democratic Party (Nigeria) politicians
Tiv people