National Assembly Spit Over Bukola Saraki, David Mark Presidential Ambition

The presidential aspirations of two chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senate president Bukola Saraki and Senator David Mark, have reportedly caused a split in the National Assembly and in their strong hold, the north-central geopolitical zone.

Vanguard in a report dated, September 18, said that some PDP aspirants outside the zone who hoped to get votes from the region, are now reconsidering their plans.

The newspaper stated that David Mark, having played a role in helping Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue state come back to the PDP, is expectation that the governor, being the only PDP governor in the north-central zone, would help to mobilise support for him.

The report however, stated that Ortom’s newness in the party and his domestic challenges seems have limited his ability to garner votes in the north-central.

Meanwhile, the lack of unanimity between Saraki and Mark has hindered their prospects of getting massive votes of the National Assembly which forms the single highest bloc of votes for them.

“Saraki and Mark cannot count on senators or the National Assembly because those legislators also have their domestic considerations and are part of alliances that they cannot always project their convictions,” a state party chairman told Vanguard on Monday, September 17.

The quest by Saraki and Mark to win votes from north-central geopolitical zone is also reportedly being challenged by the years-long political positioning of Governor Tambuwal who according to multiple sources had for long cultivated alliances with former and serving members of the National Assembly.

In another report, the Senate president, Bukola Saraki, has offered to teach members of the Lagos state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) how to produce the next governor of the state in the 2019 elections.

Saraki, who is a presidential aspirant of the PDP, said he could also give the Lagos chapter the formula on how to whittle down the influence of godfathers in Lagos state. 

Vanguard reports that the Senate president made the statement on Monday, September 17, at the PDP secretariat in Lagos state.