Bishop Avenya is the first Bishop of the Gboko Diocese since its creation on 29 December 2012.

Before then he was the Auxiliary Bishop of Makurdi Catholic Diocese. He is recorded to have served as a Bishop in the three Dioceses of Makurdi, Gboko and Katsina-Ala. Before becoming Bishop, he served as secretary general of the Association of Episcopal Conferences of Anglophone West Africa (AECAWA), headquartered in Abuja from where I was privileged to meet this deep intellectual man of God.