Senate President loses seat

By Our Reporters - 24.02.2008

THE election petition tribunal sitting in Makurdi on Saturday nullified the election of Senate President David mark. Delivering a three-hour judgment, Justice C.I. Oriri declared that the results for Agagu and Okpokwu local government areas of Benue State, which were earlier cancelled by the Returning Officer, had disenfranchised 139, 466 voters from electing their representative.

The tribunal said the results from seven other local government areas were not enough to produce a representative.

It, therefore, ordered INEC to conduct fresh and credible elections in Agagu and Okpokwu local government areas within 60 days of the judgment.

The tribunal, also upheld the results of the seven other local governments with Usman Abubakar of the ANPP scoring 172,636 against the 98,029 votes scored by David Mark of the PDP.

The results from the two local government areas where elections would be conducted should be added to the results of the seven to determine the winner, the tribunal ordered.

The tribunal also held that the Returning Officer had a constitutional right to cancel the elections in the two affected local government areas as he did, but could not recall the said canceled votes in Makurdi.

Correspondents of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)report that the petitioner, Abubakar, was present at the tribunal to hear the verdict.

The tribunal had earlier nullified the elections of two other senators of Benue, former Gov. George Akume and Joseph Akhagerger.

The President of the Senate, Senator David Mark, has declared that the verdict of the Benue State Election Petitions Tribunal which ordered fresh elections in two of the nine local governments that make up his constituency has provided him a fertile opportunity to seek further interpretation at the Appeal Court.

The Senate President, in a statement by his Special Adviser (Media and Communications), Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan said that he has received the verdict of the election tribunal and that it only provided him the “fertile” opportunity to appeal.

The statement read: “The President of the Senate, Senator David Mark has just been informed of the ruling of the petition brought against his election as the Senator representing Benue South Senatorial district by the All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) candidate, Alhaji Usman Abubakar.”

Former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has hailed the nullification of the election of the Senate President, Senator David Mark, by the Election Tribunal in Benue State, saying the judgment by the tribunal had further proved that the general elections which took place in April 2007 were a big sham.

He said with the latest development, Nigerians should now be focusing attention on Tuesday which he referred to as D-Day in the sitting of the Presidential Election Tribunal.

Said he, "I have always held a view that there are enough materials before the various tribunals to void the sham called 2007 elections. The truth is that no elections took place in Nigeria but allocation of votes.

"That Senator Mark has fallen is a statement by the courts that it is bye-bye to impunity in our democracy. And that today in Nigeria, no big man is beyond reproach and politicians should learn to win honestly.

In his own reaction, Prof. Saror lauded the tribunal saying, “they have done a lot of good to democrats in Benue State, maintaining that the nullification of the Senate President’s election has proved the ANPP right that there were no elections in Benue State.He saluted the courage and perseverance of Alhaji Usman in prosecuting the petition to its logical conclusion.

The Director General of David Mark’s Campaign Organisation, Chief Enyi Obande said, “the decision of the tribunal is okay by us, because we are ready for the election. We will win the two local governments. We have done it before and we will still win it again. It doesn’t bother us."

The chairman, Senate Committee on Environment and Ecology, Senator Grace Bent, said it has not changed anything in the Senate.

The Senator, who spoke to the Sunday Tribune shortly after the ruling of the tribunal on the election of Mark, said that whatever happens, Senator Mark remains the Senate President.

According to her, Mark remains the best thing to have happened to the Senate of Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“There is no big deal, we received the ruling with mixed feelings and in any case, they have gone on appeal. But Nigerians should understand that the Senate President remains the President of the Senate and he is the best thing to have happened to the Nigerian Senate. There is no cause for alarm as they have gone on appeal, we are hopeful that the Court of Appeal will look at all the issues dispassionately, particularly in view of the declaration by the police on his opponents,” the Senator said.

In the same vein, Senator Nkech Nwogu said no one should lose sleep over the judgment by the tribunal. She said although judiciary in Nigeria of late has been giving Nigerians a reason to believe that democracy in the country could work by its true meanings, yet she did not see the judgment by the tribunal as a mark of the end for David Mark in the Senate.

She said she would join other Senators and supporters of the Senate President in prayers to have victory at the end, expressing hope that the outcome of the Appeal by the Senate President would be rewarding.

The strongman of Ibadan politics and chieftain of the PDP in Oyo State, Alhaji Lamidi Adedibu said, “Benue State belongs to the PDP we have lost the three senatorial seats at the tribunal, but because the party is well rooted in the state, I am sure that we will win again to shame our opponents. We are preparing for a fresh election and at the end of the day, we will celebrate the victory of the Senate President and other senators.

In his reaction, former governor of Oyo State, Alhaji Lam Adesina, described the judgment as a welcome development and a further confirmation of the independence of the judiciary as the last hope of the common man.

According to the Action Congress (AC) leader in the state, “I give kudos to the judiciary for speaking the truth at all times. The judgment has further rekindled the hope of the people in that arm of government.It also shows that you cannot steal the peoples’ mandate and sit on it."

On whether Mark's return to the Senate after the fresh election would guarantee him the position of the Senate President, Alhaji Lam said, “he is a member of the PDP and anything can happen. With their absolute majority in the Senate, they may decide to appoint a Senate President protem pore pending his return or in the alternative, depending on the thinking within their party, they may as well, decide to go for a substantive Senate President.”

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has refrained from commenting on the judgment, stating that it would await the original copy of the judgment before making comments.

The outgoing National Secretary of the PDP, Chief Bernard Ezeh, expressed shock at the judgment by the tribunal and told Sunday Tribune that the party would make a formal reaction after going through the ruling by the tribunal.

Some senators who reacted on the tribunal judgment expressed delight in the resolve by the Senate President to fight his case at the Appeal Court. Senators would determine whether to keep the senate presidency for David Mark, if the Court of Appeal eventually uphold the Saturday nullification of his election by the Benue State Election Petition Tribunal.

He noted that while he still had the option of appeal, he would be at the mercy of his colleagues on the retention of his seat, if he eventually loses at the appeal court and wins a fresh election.

Ahamba also described Mark's sack as a welcome development, adding that the decision must have proved to Mark that his concept of home grown democracy, which he tried to propagate when a delegation of the European Union visited him, was not acceptable to Nigerians.