David Alechenu Bonaventure Mark , is a retired

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...

Army

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointe ...

and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, ...

. He was President of the Senate of Nigeria from 2007 to 2015 and was the Senator for Benue South Senatorial District

Benue State Benue State is one of the North Central states in Nigeria with a population of about 4,253,641 in 2006 census. The state was created in 1976 among the 7 states created at that time.The state derives its name from the Benue River which is t ...

. He is a member of the

People's Democratic Party People's Democratic Party or ''variant thereof'', could refer to: * People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan *People's Democratic Party (Belize) *People's Democratic Party (Bhutan) * People's Democratic Party (Chile) *People's Democratic Party (Dom ...

(PDP). Prior to his senatorial career, Mark was the

military Governor A military government is generally any form of government that is administered by military forces, whether or not this government is legal under the laws of the jurisdiction at issue, and whether this government is formed by natives or by an occup ...

Niger State Niger is a state in the North Central region of Nigeria and the largest state in the country. Niger state has three political zones, zone A,B and C. The state's capital is at Minna. Other major cities are Bida, Kontagora and Suleja. It was ...

from 1984 to 1986 and the Minister of Communication.

Early life and education

Mark was born in Otukpo Benue State in April 1948. He attended St. Francis Catholic Practicing School before attending the Nigerian Military School. After that he attended the

Nigerian Defence Academy The Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) is a military university based in Kaduna, Nigeria that trains officer cadets for commissioning into one of the three services of the Nigerian Armed Forces: the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force. The duration of ...

. He was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in 1970 and became a Captain in 1971. He was Commandant of Static Communications in 1974, then later held a political post as Chairman Abandoned Properties Implementation Committee in the Eastern region in 1976.

Minister

Mark headed the Communications Ministry and its two major parastatals: Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) and

Nigerian Postal Service The Nigerian Postal Service, abbreviated as NIPOST is a government-owned and operated corporation, is the Nigerian postal administration responsible for providing postal services in Nigeria. It has more than 12,000 employees and runs more than ...

(NIPOST). As Minister of Communications, Mark was sometimes known for his blunt talk; during a two-day walking tour of facilities in

Akure Akure is a city in south-western Nigeria. It is the capital and largest city of Ondo State. The city had a population of 403,000 as at the 2006 population census. History Pre 1914 Rock engravings dating back to the Mesolithic period, ...

in 1989, some union workers complained that some of its members had not been promoted since 1978. Mark's response was that those who have not been promoted may have to be retired,Sam Egburonu. (1990). "It is High Time We Face Realities ", THISWEEK, July 2, 1990 meaning that unproductive workers will have to be let go. He also espoused the opinion of death penalty for telecom cable thieves, as well as a policy of dismantling under-utilized telecom facilities citing political considerations for giving allocations to towns with limited use of phone networks.

Senate of Nigeria

Mark was elected to his position as President of the Senate of Nigeria on June 6, 2007. David Mark ran for re-election to the Senate for Benue South in April 2011 and was elected for a fourth term. David Mark noted that the polls pointed to his decisive victory, and called for his opponents to work together to improve Nigeria. When leading the review of the

Nigerian Constitution The Constitution of Nigeria is the written supreme law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Nigeria has had many constitutions. Its current form was enacted on 29 May 1999 and inaugurated the Fourth Nigerian Republic. History Nigeria's stru ...

, Mark reportedly urged his colleagues to set aside their personal interests and focus on the interests of the Nigerian people. After the UK criticized Nigeria's Prohibition of Same-Sex Marriage bill, threatening to pull their foreign aid, Mark responded that they "should keep

heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offic ...

aid." Mark called Nigeria's National Football Federation the "centre of corruption in the country," suggesting that they may need to temporarily disband to allow for reconstruction. In September 2018 he was hoping to be a Presidential candidate and he appointed Zainab Abdulkadir Kure as his campaign manager and Abba Ejembi as his campaign's spokesperson.

Personal life

He enjoys

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cov ...

, and

squash Squash may refer to: Sports * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling * Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...

. He is an Idoma Christian, He has 4-5 Wives. Mark has a country house with a helicopter and helipad.

References

External links

*
Assemblyonline Nigeria News: Gender equality impossible in politics says David Mark. BBC News: Legal blow for Nigerian senator; A tribunal in Nigeria has annulled the election of the president of the senate, David Mark.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mark, David Presidents of the Senate (Nigeria) Nigerian generals People from Benue State Governors of Niger State Living people Idoma people Nigerian Christians Peoples Democratic Party members of the Senate (Nigeria) Nigerian Defence Academy alumni 20th-century Nigerian politicians 21st-century Nigerian politicians Peoples Democratic Party (Nigeria) politicians Year of birth missing (living people)