Former Senate President, David Mark, has denied receiving about N2billion from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) through a National Assembly account for distribution to senators in the build-up to the 2015 elections.
Senator Mark denial came via a statement issued on Sunday by the media assistant, Paul Mumeh while reacting to his visit to the office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) last week.
The anti-graft agency had summoned the former lawmaker in a letter addressed to the National Assembly to answer questions on the 2015 presidential election campaign funds as it concerned Benue State.
Mumeh, however, said Mark only honoured the invitation as a law-abiding citizen to deny the allegation.
As stated by him, the statement is “the first and only official statement from the office of Mark on this issue.”
Mumeh insisted that the senator never received or distributed any money as claimed, adding that he had proven his innocence on the allegation before he left the EFCC office.
The statement read in part: “Curiously, they also alleged that the PDP paid over N2bn into the National Assembly’s account which he, as then President of the Senate, allegedly shared among the 109 senators, including PDP, Action Congress of Nigeria, and All Nigerians Peoples Party (members) in 2010.
“Again, to the best of his knowledge, Senator Mark is not aware of such transaction. This simply did not make sense to any right-thinking member of the society.
“Senator Mark wondered why anybody would think that PDP will pay money into National Assembly account. He, however, clarified all the issues raised before returning home.
“Senator Mark believes in due process and the rule of law. He has maintained a clean record of public service over the years and will not stop to uphold the highest standard of conduct expected of public servants.”