Iyorchia Ayu
| Iyorchia Ayu | |
|---|---|
| President of the Senate of Nigeria | |
|
In office 1992–1993 |
|
| Federal Minister of Education | |
|
In office 1993–1998 |
|
| Federal Minister of Industry | |
|
In office June 1999 – 2001 |
|
| Succeeded by | Stephen Akiga |
| Federal Minister of Internal Affairs | |
|
In office July 2003 – June 2005 |
|
| Preceded by | Mohammed Shata |
| Succeeded by | Magaji Muhammed |
| Federal Minister of Environment | |
|
In office June 2005 – December 2005 |
|
| Preceded by | Bala Mande |
| Succeeded by | Helen Esuene |
Iyorchia Ayu is a former Nigerian Senator who was elected President of the Senate during the Nigerian Third Republic (1992–1993). He later served in various Ministerial positions in the Cabinet of President Olusegun Obasanjo between 1999 and 2007.
Ayu was born in Gboko in Benue State. He taught sociology in the University of Jos, including courses on the art and science of Marxism, and was the Chairman of the Jos University chapter of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
After entering politics, he was influential among the majority Tiv people in his home state of Benue. He was elected Senator in the Third Republic on the platform of the Social Democratic Party (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 had been prevented from taking office. However, he later became the Minister for Education in General Sani Abacha's military government. In March 1994 he chaired a workshop on Technical Education in Nigeria, seeking ways to learn from Germany, the United States, Britain and Japan.
Ayu was said to be political godfather of George Akume, governor of Benue State from 1999-2007. Ayu assisted in the 1998-1999 campaign to elect President Olusegun Obasanjo on the People's Democratic Party (PDP platform). Obasanjo appointed him Industry Ministry from 1999-2000.
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 and Chad 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.
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