The All Progressive Congress (APC) chapter in Benue has taken a swipe at the clamour by the Senate President, Senator David Mark, to continue in the same portfolio beyond the 7th Assembly at the upper chamber. Benue State APC chairman, Hon. Abba Yaro, said yesterday in Makurdi on the ongoing agitation on who replaces Senator Mark in the 8th Assembly, that Mark has been in the saddle in the last eight years and should give way for someone else. He said natural justice demands that when an occupant exhausts his tenure of public office, it is only logical that the person would give way for emergence of another holder to succeed him. Advocating for elevation of the Senate Minority Leader, George Akume to the exalted office of Senate President in the 8th Assembly, Yaro stressed that Akume single handedly boosted the fortunes of the party and must be adequately compensated. Yaro, Mark's kinsman said that by all estimation, Mark's has outlived his usefulness in the Senate, because all these years he was there, the impact of the office was not felt by his people. He challenged Mark to compare his service to the people with the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu's, who has turned his constituency to an El Dorado to admiration of the people and a force to reckon with by all and sundry in his community. He said: “Let me clarify this for the sake of the general public, in all the 16 years Mark represented people of Benue South senatorial district, not even a feeder road is erected or constructed by him.” Adding that even the Otobi water works, where Senator Mark brought President Goodluck Jonathan to commission last year, has not produced a drop of water for the people, adding that however, to people's amazement, while there is inadequate water supply to the people in the zone, Senator Mark's golf course has 24-hour water sprinkling on the grass in the premises, whereas the people are crying of non-availability of potable water.
