– Senator David Mark has said that he is not contemplating defection
– The former Senate president’s clarification on the issue, comes on the heels of crisis in the PDP
– Mark says he remains loyal to the opposition party and is positive the PDP will return to power
Dr David Mark, former president of the Senate, has reiterated his commitment and loyalty to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
PDP crisis: David Mark speaks on defection to APC
Senator Mark says he would not abandon the opposition party even at this time when they are experiencing crisis.
Speaking in Makurdi, on Monday during a stakeholders’ meeting, Senator Mark said he joined the PDP due to its ideology and not because he wanted to become a Senator or to hold any office.
He assured the state executive and other stakeholders of the party that PDP would come out of the crisis stronger than ever, adding that peace would soon return to the party.
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He however, advised “those who play PDP in the day time and APC in the night”, to change their mind, because, according to him, “those in the APC do change their mind also “.
Senator Mark also lamented the arrest and continuous detention of former Governor of Benue State, Gabriel Suswam by the agency of the state, stressing that, arrangements were in place to “do everything legally possible to get him out”.
He condemned the spate of killings in Benue State and called on Governor Samuel Ortom to as a matter of urgency, deploy means of securing lives and properties of the citizenry, which he said was a cardinal point of every government.
On the forthcoming local government polls in Benue, Senator Mark urged party loyalists to remain calm and not be deterred by the ruling party, which had allegedly vowed to write results from their rooms and take to the radio for announcements.
“We are not going to rig the election, but we would not also allow anybody to rig as well. We will not abandone you, we will fight for you and stand by you”, he assured the aspirants.
Earlier, ZENITHBLOG.com gathered that the state chairman of PDP, Hon Sir John Ngbede charged the stakeholders to work for the success of the party at the grassroots, stressing that Benue State belonged to PDP and the party would emerge victorious at the local government polls and 2019 general elections.
While assuring the aspirants of a leveled playing ground at the party primaries, Ngbede said the party would hold councillorship and chairmanship primaries on 18th and 26th April respectively, while the local government polls would hold on the 3rd of June, 2017, as scheduled by the state election umpire.
Meanwhile, Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has demanded unconditional and immediate release of party members in detention facilities across the country.
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The faction made the call in a statement issued by its Spokesman, Dayo Adeyeye in Abuja.
Makarfi said that the PDP’s attention had been drawn to the unconstitutional and indiscriminate arrest and detention of its members and supporters nationwide on phantom charges.
He noted that Salisu Mamuda, the Chairman of PDP Jigawa chapter was on Feb. 4, arrested for criticising the state government against spending N400 million to entertain defectors from PDP to APC.
According to Daily Post, Makarfi also recalled that Babatunde Gbadamosi, a 2015 PDP Governorship Aspirant in Lagos was arrested by men of the Department of State Services on February 17.
He said that Gbadamosi was arrested for allegedly exposing the Forex racketeering at the Central Bank of Nigeria, adding that on March 3, Alhaji Abdulrahman Mohammed, a PDP Chieftain in Kogi was arrested on trump-up charges and detained illegally for “criticising the wrong policies, bad governance and non-performance’’ of Gov. Yahaya Bello.
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