Conference of Idoma Pressure Groups asks David Mark not to run in senatorial by-election

IDOMA pressure groups have asked former senate president David Mark to stand down and make way for a younger and fresh candidate ahead of the impending by-election due to take place early next year.

 

On November 28, the Court of Appeal nullified Senator Mark's election in the Benue South Senatorial District after judges ruled that he was declared the winner illegally. Senator Mark, 67, has represented Benue South since Nigeria's return to democracy in 1999 and between 2007 and 2015, he was the senate president.

 

Nigeria's longest serving senator, he is a leading member of the People's Democratic Party, (PDP) and has been touted as a possible future presidential candidate. With a by-election forthcoming, several local groups in Benue State calling themselves the Conference of Idoma Pressure Groups, have called on Senator David Mark to step down and allow a younger candidate to run.

 

Made up of about 10 groups, the Idoma umbrella body said it would do more harm than good to the people of the region if Senator Mark was re-elected into the senate. According to them, since the resumption of the eighth assembly and Senator Mark ending his tenure as the senate president, he had decided to remain mute.

 

Dan Ochoyo, the group's coordinator, called on the people of the zone to support the candidacy of the All Progressives Congress candidate Donald Onjeh, who he described as a liberator. In the March elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (Inec) had declared Senator Mark the winner ahead of Mr Onjeh.

 

Mr Ochoyo said: “Idoma community has gone past the age where someone thinks he’s the Lord of Lords. The people have spoken with one voice and we are calling on Senator Mark to return home.

 

"He should back out of the race. We can no longer tolerate an expired politician to continue to lead us and Dan Onjeh has come to liberate us, so we are calling on all Zone C natives both home and abroad to join this train of change."

 

In its ruling last month, the Makurdi division of the Court of Appeal ordered a re-run of the poll within 90 days. Judges agreed with Mr Onjeh that while the collation of results for the Benue South senatorial district were still ongoing in seven of the nine local government areas of the district, Inec declared Senator Mark the winner of the poll.