I remain in PDP, says Mark

Senate President, David Mark, said on Wednesday in Abuja that he had no reason to leave the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and join the All Progressives Party (APC).
Mark made this known during a thanksgiving service held at the Chapel of Testimony, Apo to mark his 67th birthday.
He gave the assurance that he would remain in the party even if he were to be the last man standing.
“I have heard by way of rumour I am decamping to APC; the social media is awash with that. If I will be the last man standing, I will remain in PDP. The rumour is just an unnecessary fabrication and I even heard that one of the papers yesterday had it as a headline.
“The media men must please make sure that they investigate cases before they begin to publish them. Nobody has spoken to me from APC, I have no reason whatsoever to leave PDP; I have risen to where I am on the platform of the PDP.“
The number three citizen said that he believed in the ideology of the PDP and would continue to work hard to ensure that the party emerged victorious in subsequent elections.
“PDP has a manifesto and I believe in it, those who are leaving PDP now are fair weather friends of PDP; so they have gone, they have no problem.
“When PDP bounces back which we will do in the next couple of elections or next election, they will come back again to PDP.
“But I will remain in PDP and I will try to restructure PDP, bring it back again, and this is democracy – there will be a winner and there will be a loser.“
According to Mark, political parties all over the world accept the will of the people, and Nigerians have made their choice, which PDP has accepted.
The former Governor of Plateau, Joshua Dariye, who was also at the church service, said that he had not defected to the APC contrary to media reports.
Dariye said that he had always admired Mark and cherished the relationship they shared.
The former governor said that he was at the church to felicitate with Mark.
Also, Mark called on all those who prophesied that the outcome of the presidential election would be disastrous to apologise to Nigerians.
He said this prophesy led to exodus of Nigerians to their states of origin in fear of the violence predicted.
“On Election Day, people thought that the fight was going to be one that had never been seen in this country before, but God heard our prayers, the election came and went, no major incidents.
“Results were announced and President Goodluck Jonathan conceded defeat even before the final result and congratulated General Buhari.
“I think this is God’s way of telling Nigerians that he has put us together and we must remain one united country.
“Those who were predicting that this country will be gone should apologise to Nigerians; there were so many prophesy.
“The problem with all these prophets is that when things do not go their own way, they find another way of coming back and telling us that what they meant was this, they spoke in tongues and we did not understand.
“As a nation, we have risen beyond the wishes of all these prophets of doom, but what is more important is that we have established a firm root of democracy in this country’’, he said.
Mark expressed the hope that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), would win more seats than the All Progressives Congress (APC), in the governorship and Houses of Assembly elections.
Leader of the Senate, Victor Ndoma-Egba, said that the loss of the PDP was the gain of Nigeria.
He said while the prophets were prophesying doom, God was working to ensure that Nigeria remained as one.
“Up to a few days ago, we heard drums of war, dooms day prophets were at work and they were very busy saying that Nigeria was going to break-up.
“They did not realise that God fixed the elections during the holiest period in Christianity – the Lent period – for a purpose.
“We had the elections and God did it for Nigeria and for Nigerians, but God also used people to achieve this.
“When the story is told, when the history is written, the role of Senator David Mark will be properly documented”, he said.
He congratulated Mark for the role he played in Nigeria’s survival of the election period, reiterating that “PDP’s loss is Nigeria’s gain.”