Sen David Mark
The March 28 National Assembly elections will see Senate President David Mark testing his popularity for the fifth time in a row. But this time around, it appears he has the weakest opposition.
The long reign of Senate President David Mark, who has been representing Benue South Senatorial District, commonly referred to as Zone C in the state, with a brand new mandate from his Idoma speaking natives will likely continue until 2019.
This may be so because the struggle for the much desired power change in the estimation of political observers in the area, which was anticipated before the primaries of political parties held in December last year, did not yield good results for the proponents.
Before the December primaries, the name of a retired federal permanent secretary in the ministry of defence, Chief Mike Onoja, rang a bell so much so that he was positioned as the only aspirant capable of dethroning the country’s number three citizen from the exalted office. However, Onoja’s name eventually fizzled out of the political ring.
Political observers of events in the area argued that Onoja had stepped down his ambition to contest the senatorial position against the senate president, who is seeking a fifth term mandate. Onoja withdrew from the race during the primary poll held in Otukpo, following pressure mounted on him from undisclosed party bigwigs.
Even though he was fully prepared for the poll up to the time delegates, officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and multimedia observers settled for voting to commence, Onoja accompanied by the state PDP chairman Dr Emmanuel Agbo suddenly showed up, collected microphone from the presiding electoral officer and announced his decision to withdraw from the race.
His announcement left hundreds of his supporters at the venue disillusioned. They felt let down by their aspirant. There were also angry responses, which trailed his pull out, that spread like wild fire in Otukpo town as other admirers who couldn’t make it to the local government headquarters, venue of the event, got wind of the happenings via live transmission on Joy FM.
On the other hand, the state deputy governor Chief Steven Lawani, who was expected to spring up surprise rejected the offer thrown at him by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to stand against Mark shortly after he lost his bid to secure the PDP’s gubernatorial ticket in the primary election won by Prince Terhemen Tarzoor.
Lawani, however, got several pat on the back from the senate president who publicly commended him for not accepting the APC’s ‘Greek gift” during his (Mark’s) re-election campaigns at Otukpo, Ugbokpo in Apa and Ogbagaji in Agatu local government areas.
The actions by Onoja and Lawani, many say, paved the way for Mark to have an easy ride, and he is now coasting to victory in the zone with no strong challenger.
Mark had told a crowd of cheering supporters that the opposition was really disappointed that the duo of Onoja and Lawani refused to challenge him in the forthcoming polls.
“They (APC) even offered the deputy governor Lawani their ticket to contest against me, but he refused. They were disappointed that my friend Onoja also did not contest with me.”
In the past, notable men in Idoma land such as Major General Lawrence Onoja (rtd) and business mogul Abubakar Usman, popularly called ‘Young Alhaji’ have suffered ‘controversial’ defeat in the hands of the senate president in their quest to wrestle the seat from him on different occasions.
Now, Mark appears set to continue in the position he has been occupying since the country returned to democratic rule in 1999.
Nevertheless, his only challenger, APC’s candidate for the seat Daniel Onjeh said he would give the senate president a fierce fight in the forthcoming election, despite his money and social standing in the society.
Onjeh, a former president of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) and a 2011 House of Representatives candidate for the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), has likened the coming contest between him and Mark as a would-be repeat of the historic battle of David and Goliath in the Bible.
He boasted: “The die is cast. I will slug it out with Senator Mark. I am poised to give him a run for both his money and status. My team has mapped out a comprehensive strategy to win the election.”
The APC senatorial hopeful recently told our correspondent in an interview in Makurdi that the much desired change of political leadership in the area was long overdue.
He noted that majority of the Idoma people have more than ever expressed commitment to his cause because they have accepted the wave of change blowing across the country.
Onjeh said that if voted into power, his dynamic and visionary leadership of Zone C would lead to the creation of APA State, adding that he would create an entity to be known as Apa Development Company (ADC) to harness the human and abundant natural resources of the area in order to address the socio-cultural and economic needs of the people.
He promised in Otukpo to press for the exploration of oil in Idoma land if elected to replace Mark at the red chamber of the National Assembly.
Onjeh, many say, is far younger in age and experience than all the other past challengers of Mark.
Moreover, pundits have argue that Mark’s most towering advantage is the uncommon wisdom, which he continues to display in the nation’s affairs.
But, the former student leader appears undeterred as he reeled out his manifesto, maintaining his resolve to push for the reopening of oil wells found in parts of the senatorial district during the Second World War if elected.
“In fact, Benue South plays host to an incredible number of natural resources, not to mention the tremendous human resources that are lying fallow. History has it that after the Second World War, oil wells were dug at Adoka and Okpaya in Idoma land, but later covered.
The exploration then was done using crude tools and equipment. With the sophisticated equipment available nowadays, I strongly believe that crude oil can be found in commercial quantities in Idoma land.”
At the moment, the question on many lips seeking answer remains: is Onjeh a match for Mark in this contest? Governor Gabriel Suswam didn’t give a second thought to the query when he berated Onjeh during the PDP zonal flag off campaign held in Otukpo.
For Suswam, Onjeh is not a name worthy of mention as a challenger of Mark, who holds the traditional title of ‘the Okpopowulu K’ Idoma’ (the whirlwind of Idoma land), because doing so, the governor posited, would promote the APC’s senatorial hopeful to think he is a force to reckon with.
In a similar vein, a PDP stalwart in the area, Kenneth Eche, believes that the former NANs leader could not dare Mark in the politics of Idoma kingdom where political wizards such as ‘Young Alhaji’ and General Onoja by stroke of fate couldn’t succeed.
Eche maintains that the politics of Idoma nation is too complex for Onjeh to tackle, adding that the APC is not even on the ground in the area.
Also commenting, the governorship candidate for Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN) Richard Nyitse, who hails from the area, stressed the fact that Mark remains largely unopposed in the next month’s contest.
He said: “As far as I’m concerned, Mark is unopposed in the coming election. Onjeh cannot go anywhere, because people don’t like him following his past antecedents. Besides, he is not known in Idoma land and he has not been campaigning.”
In Nyitse’s estimation, only ‘Young Alhaji’ has the magic wand to undo Mark.” He said that the Idomas have not been fair to him in terms of political calculation, describing the Idoma people as “sell outs.”
In the meantime, everyone believe Mark has the winning formula that will give him early victory come March 28. But, as they say in politics, you cannot underestimate your opponent until victory is achieved.
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