Alleged Threat To David Mark’s Life Cheap Propaganda, Says Onjeh

David Mark-Daniel OnjehThe candidate of the All progressives Congress (APC) in the February 20 Benue South Senatorial District election, Comrade Daniel Onjeh, has said he is not surprised by al¬legations of threat to life by his op¬ponent, David Mark.
Addressing journalists in Otukpo, the Benue South Sena¬torial District headquarters yes¬terday, Onjeh described the al¬legations as “Propaganda that is unwarranted”.
Mr. Mark, who has represented the senatorial district since 1999 and was President of the Senate between 2007 and 2015, had his election nullified and a re-run ordered by the Makurdi Division of the Appeal Court last December.
The ex-Senate president in a statement issued by his spokesman, Paul Mumeh on Monday, accused the APC candidate and the deputy governor of Benue State of plotting to assassinate him ahead of the rescheduled elections.
But Onjeh pointed out that Mr. Mark, who is contesting on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has been at the cent¬er of electoral violence in his previous contests backed by the state’s agents of co¬ercion, adding that it is only unfortu¬nate that the former Senate president no longer enjoys the federal might.
According to the APC senatorial candidate, the prop¬aganda is intended “To serve as a prelude to unleash terror as usu¬al on innocent citizens and the electorate forgetting that the era of voter inducement and intimi¬dation is over”.
He further likened Mark’s conduct leading to the Febru¬ary 20 rerun election to a student who prepares to cheat in exami¬nations to pass instead of reading his books.
“David Mark’s approach and attitude towards this election is like a student who is not prepared for examination. It is only those who are on loser’s side in a game that embark on playing rough. His attitude in this election is clear¬ly defeatist in nature and that is why I say his alleged threat to life is laughable”, Onjeh said.
What the PDP candidate needs to do, Onjeh added, is to come out and respond to the Senate Committee on Works’ questions on the dualisation of the Otukpo-Aliade Road rather than the antics which he noted are capable of sparking vio¬lence at the poll.
He maintained that the APC is “Not willing to play to the gallery”.