Senator David Mark yesterday emerged winner of the rerun election conducted in Benue South senatorial district by the Independent National Electoral Commission.


The immediate past senate president and candidate of Peoples Democratic Party defeated his closest rival, Mr. Daniel Onje of All Progressives Congress after winning in five of the nine local government areas of Benue South Senatorial district.


According to the results announced by the INEC returning officer, Professor Isiaka Eneji. Mark had 18,468 votes in Otukpo, his native local government, while Onje polled 12,203. In Obadigbo LGA, Mark scored 6,844 while Onje scored 8,882. Others are Ado LGA, Mark 6,513, Onje 6,370; Agatu LGA, Mark 7,986, Onje 3,456; Okpokwu LGA, Mark 11,935, Onje 6,830; Apa LGA - Mark 9,191, Onje 4,942.


By this victory in the court-ordered rerun poll, which followed the nullification of his election by the Court of Appeal, the former senate president, who would be doing his fifth term at the upper chamber, will retain the status of Nigeria’s longest serving senator. He is also the country’s longest served senate president.


The Court of Appeal, sitting in Makurdi, had on November 28 last year nullified the election of the former senate president, upturning his confirmation last October as winner of the March 28, 2015 senatorial election by the election petitions tribunal. The appeal court also ordered a rerun of the poll within 90 days of its ruling.


Yesterday’s contest, which was held in a generally peaceful atmosphere, was a straight fight between Mark and Onje, a former students’ union leader. Mark is 68 years old, while Onje is 41. Benue South senatorial district is peopled mainly by the Idoma, and Mark and Onje are of the ethnic nationality.


Besides Benue, rerun elections were also billed to hold yesterday in Kaduna, Plateau, Niger, Nasarawa, Kogi, Taraba and Imo states, the first set of the 80 court-ordered elections that INEC said it was scheduled to conduct between January and March. Though, the elections for Plateau and Imo were later postponed.

HungerBAD:
?

olaboy33:
winning with just about 12000 votes in a constituency uve represented for about 12 years is nothing to celebrate of

olaboy33:
winning with just about 12000 votes in a constituency uve represented for about 12 years is nothing to celebrate of

NextGovernor:
This clearly confirmed to me that APC only rant on media. Politics is local, you enlighten your people on what you want to do but instead APC will go to media and be claiming the election when they aren't mobilising or doing the grassroot work. I think I have to respect the person of David Mark very well now. He won the Federal force and to those who still think supreme court judgement on governorship elections was wrong, this is a clear case that those elections was actually won but APC wanted to steal them thru back door.

WhoRUDeceiving:
celebrating mediocrity day in day out. More going abroad for medical checkup paid for by the poor people of Idoma

MRSALT:

The buck lies with the executives to initiate and execute projects. The legislature has no such functions. Any blame on infrastructural decay goes back to the executives. By the way which senator has built university, hospital or airport for their constituency. Leave Mark alone. He is as good as average Nigerian politician PDP or APC. Tinubu's wife inclusive

NextGovernor:
l force and to those who still think supreme court judgement on governorship elections was wrong, this is a clear case that those elections was actually won but APC wanted This clearly confirmed to me that APC only rant on media. Politics is local, you enlighten your people on what you want to do but instead APC will go to media and be claiming the election when they aren't mobilising or doing the grassroot work. I think I have to respect the person of David Mark very well now. He won the Federa to steal them thru back door.

WhoRUDeceiving:


It's not about which senator has done this and that, that mentally is local and that is why some of you guys are queuing at the embassy to get Blue Passport. We are talking about a former senate president who used public funds to go on "medical Tourism" over and over again. He was there in the senate when there was a movement to ban generators, to fix the naira rate, for the need for state police, etc, yet people are praising him because he turned his zone into Dubai abi?

I dont blame you. Keep recycling nonsense and you'll get rubbish.

WhoRUDeceiving:


It's not about which senator has done this and that, that mentally is local and that is why some of you guys are queuing at the embassy to get Blue Passport. We are talking about a former senate president who used public funds to go on "medical Tourism" over and over again. He was there in the senate when there was a movement to ban generators, to fix the naira rate, for the need for state police, etc, yet people are praising him because he turned his zone into Dubai abi?

I dont blame you. Keep recycling nonsense and you'll get rubbish.

MRSALT:

Thanks for not blaming me.From what you have just stated, what would you have done, if you were the senate president? You wanted the senate president to ban generators, fix naira or create state police? So senate presidents do not need the support of the stakeholders to do all these? Even you, a great patriot, how many bills have you sponsored in the national assembly? Or you don"t know that individuals can sponsor bills? When many people were shouting and agitating for state police, are you saying that you do not know the set of people that kicked against it. Senate Presidents are like chief judges; they only act according to the bills presented before them. Except when they are in oversight functions

HungerBAD:
Will wait for a credible source.

The people of people are smart, and will not elect their PROBLEMS into Power again.