Alas, the election was conducted but unfortunately did not meet Mark’s political calculation. Apart from the fact that his party, the PDP, lost the presidency to the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC), the PDP also lost the majority seats in the Senate to the APC, which clinched 64 seats, leaving the remaining 45 seats for the PDP.
With the current arrangement in which the APC now has the majority in the Senate, the dream of Mark returning to the floor as the President has automatically been shattered. Obviously, he is returning to the upper chamber as a floor member.
Mark, who was born in April 1948, is a Senator for Benue South Senatorial Districts in Benue State, and prior to his legislative career, he was a military governor of Niger State. He was then a Brigadier-General. He got elected to his position as President of the Senate of Nigeria on June 6, 2007. He ran for a re-election to the Senate in April 2011 and was elected for a fourth term.
Already, there are insinuations in some quarters that the outgoing Senate President may be thinking of resigning his seat for the 8th Senate which will commence on June 4, 2015.
Some Nigerians are of the opinion that the two-term Senate President contributed to the challenges currently confronting the nation and with the way the elections have gone, Mark is not even assured of the position of minority leader in the Senate.
The recent role the Senator played in the confirmation of Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, former minister and nominee from Lagos, for the ministerial position is another factor that may work against him if he vies for any of minority position. He was believed to have ignored the views of opposition Senators despite their conscientious objections, and at the end of the session, the APC senators had to walk out of the session, alleging breach of the rules by Mark.
Obviously, the non-availability of a ranking APC Senator from the South-East region to take the slot of Senate President would definitely force the APC to zone the slot to the North Central, where David Mark hails from. Even if he decides to defect to the APC, he would have emerged the best choice, given his rich background and experience, but APC may never give the position to him.
However, there are unconfirmed reports that Mark is already lobbying the APC to give him the position, in addition to speculations that he might be pressured by political forces into defecting to the APC after the inauguration of the National Assembly, in order to retain his post.
With the non-availability of any ranking APC Senator from the South-East and South-South, the party may be thinking of moving the Senate Presidency to the North-Central.
If the speculations of Mark negotiating and of his possible defection to APC to retain his prime position in the upper chamber, are not true, what would he be when the 8th Assembly commences in June?
This is one interesting political discourse that has been rife since the outcome of the March 28 poll became known.
Some observers say they would like to see how Mark fits in as ‘a floor member’ after he had presided over the chamber for years. This means he would now raise his hand to be recognized before speaking where he had occupied the foremost position, recognizing fellow senators before they spoke.
Indeed, Mark’s transposition is believed to be one of the biggest upsets in the last election.
Nigerian Senate Presidents since 1960
Nnamdi Azikiwe (1960-1960) – NCNC
Nwafor Orizu (1960-1966) – NCNC
Joseph Wayas (1979-1983) – NPN
Iyocha Ayu (1992-1993) – SDP
Ameh Ebute (1993-1993) – SDP
Evan Enwerem (1993-1999) – SDP
Chuba Okadigbo (1999-2000) – PDP
Pius Anyim (2000-2003) – PDP
Adolphus Wabar (2003-2005) – PDP
Ken Nnamani (2005-2007) – PDP
David Mark (2007-Till Date) – PDP
No comments:
Post a Comment