Iyorchia Ayu
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Iyorchia Ayu (born 15 November 1952) 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 A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
; he is the current
Chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...
of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
National Working Committee The PDP National Working Committee, also known by its acronym NWC, is the executive committee of the People's Democratic Party in Nigeria. The NWC is composed of 12 members, all of whom are elected to a four-year term at the party's National Conve ...
. A former
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 ...
n Senator, he was elected
President of the Senate President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate. It corresponds to the speaker in some other assemblies. The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's succession for its top executive office: for e ...
during the
Nigerian Third Republic The Third Republic was the planned republican government of Nigeria in 1993 which was to be governed by the Third Republican constitution. Founded (1993) The constitution of the Third Republic was drafted in 1989. General Ibrahim Badamasi B ...
(1992–1993). He later served in various ministerial positions in the Cabinet 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 pres ...
between 1999 and 2007.


Early career

Ayu was born in
Gboko Gboko is a town in the Benue State of North-central Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. ...
in
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 th ...
. He taught
sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...
in the
University of Jos The University of Jos, abbreviated as Unijos, is a Federal University in Jos, Plateau State, central Nigeria. History What became the University of Jos was established in November 1971 from the satellite campus of the University of Ibadan. ...
in Plateau State, including courses on the art and science of
Marxism Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...
, and was the Chairman of the Jos University chapter of
Academic Staff Union of Universities The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is a Nigerian union of university academic staff, founded in 1978. ASUU is an offshoot of the Nigerian Association of University Teachers (NAUT) which was established in 1965. At that time, NAUT con ...
(ASUU). After entering politics, he was influential among the majority of
Tiv people Tiv (or Tiiv) are a Tivoid ethnic group. They constitute approximately 2.4% of Nigeria's total population, and number over 5 million individuals throughout Nigeria and Cameroon. The Tiv language is spoken by about 5 million people in ...
in his home state of Benue. He was elected Senator in the Third Republic on the platform of the
Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...
(SDP) and became Senate President. In November 1993, the senate impeached Ayu, who was a strong opponent of the Interim National Government established after the elected president
Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola , also known as M. K. O. Abiola (24 August 1937 – 7 July 1998) was a Nigerian businessman, publisher, and politician. He was the Aare Ona Kankafo XIV of Yorubaland and an aristocrat of the Egba clan. M.K.O ...
had been prevented from taking office. However, he later became the Minister for Education in 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 ...
's military government. In March 1994 he chaired a workshop on Technical Education in Nigeria, seeking ways to learn from
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, Britain and
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
.


Obasanjo Cabinet

Ayu was said to be political godfather to
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 ...
, Governor 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 th ...
from 1999 to 2007. Ayu assisted in the 1998 -1999 campaign to elect President Olusegun Obasanjo on the
People's Democratic Party People's Democratic Party or ''variant thereof'', could refer to: * People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan *People's Democratic Party (Belize) *People's Democratic Party (Bhutan) *People's Democratic Party (Chile) * People's Democratic Party (Dom ...
(PDP platform). Obasanjo appointed him Industry Ministry from 1999 to 2000. Ayu was appointed Minister of Internal Affairs in July 2003. In September 2003 Ayu announced that Nigeria was negotiating security pacts with its northern neighbors
Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesChad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...
to clamp down on smuggling, human-trafficking and cross border banditry. In June 2004 he inaugurated the Prisons Monitoring Committee to secure the rights of prisoners to acceptable conditions. In August 2004, Ayu said that his ministry had started the distribution of national identity cards. The new card was to serve for identification purposes and for validation of other documents, such as passports and driver's licences. It would also be a tool for controlling migration flows, generating data for government planning, and detecting crimes. During a cabinet reshuffle in June 2005, Ayu was reassigned to become Minister of Environment. At a meeting in
Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...
in September 2005, Ayu called for an effective, sufficient and predictable financial mechanism to provide the technical skills and infrastructure needed for African countries to handle chemicals safely. In October that year Ayu called for fair access to UNDP/
GEF Gef ( ), also referred to as the Talking Mongoose or the Dalby Spook, was the name given to an allegedly talking mongoose which was claimed to inhabit a farmhouse owned by the Irving family. The Irvings' farm was located at Cashen's Gap near ...
funds, and for increased allocations to developing countries. In December 2005 he spoke at a conference o
Integrated Coastal Area Management (ICAM)
He praised the holistic, multi-sectoral approach of ICAM as a way to manage the regional ecosystem. In December 2005, Obasanjo dismissed Ayu, giving no reason.


Later career

After falling out with Obasanjo, Ayu left the PDP and joined the
Action Congress The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), formerly known as Action Congress (AC), was a List of political parties in Nigeria, Nigerian political party formed via the merger of a faction of Alliance for Democracy (Nigeria), Alliance for Democracy, th ...
(AC). He was head of the campaign to elect Vice President
Atiku Abubakar Atiku is a given name and surname. It may refer to: Given name *Atiku Abubakar (born 1946), Nigerian politician and businessman, Vice President of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007 *Atikur Rahman Mallik, Bangladeshi film editor Middle name *Abubakar Atiku ...
as president on the AC platform in April 2007. In February 2007, Ayu was arrested and later arraigned by a Federal court on charges of terrorism. He was later released on bail. In March 2007, he spoke out against the failure of the
Independent National Electoral Commission The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was established in 1998 and is the electoral body which oversees elections in Nigeria. History Regulation and administration of elections The administration of democratic elections in Nige ...
(INEC) to include Atiku's name on the list of candidates.


Bibliography

*


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayu, Iyorchia Ayu Living people People from Gboko University of Jos alumni Social Democratic Party (Nigeria) politicians Members of the Peoples Democratic Party (Nigeria) Presidents of the Senate (Nigeria) Education ministers of Nigeria Federal ministers of Nigeria Interior ministers of Nigeria 1952 births