The secretariat of Langtang North Local Government Area of Plateau State having been sealed off by the police to prevent a breakdown of law and order with supporters of two claimants to the chairmanship of the council being at loggerheads, Mr Joshua Ubandoma Laven one of the contenders also spoke to ISAAC SHOBAYO on the matter.
When is your tenure supposed to end?
My tenure as the executive chairman of Langtang North is billed to expire on 9th October, 2022. As far as I am concerned, the exercise that was carried out in Langtang North on 9th October, 2021 was null and void. I have been a law-abiding citizen for a very long time. I won my election in 2018. Out of the 18 wards of the council, I won 17 but the government went ahead and swore in an impostor with just one ward. But I got my mandate through a competent court within a space of one year. At the end of the day, I got justice. On the 19th of October, I was sworn in when my colleagues had been in office for almost one year. When they were celebrating their two years in office, I was celebrating one year.
The governor of Plateau State, the Plateau State Independent Electoral Commission and the Attorney-General of the state knew there was no vacuum in Langtang North but they still went ahead to advertise the position and conducted the sham election that took place recently. I will never resort to violence and that was why I went to court again and on the 2nd of November, the court said there was nothing like election; that what took place was a sham and it was null and void. As far as the court was concerned, the exercise was carried out in futility; it was a waste of public fund. The court further declared that I should go back to office.
It was a judgment where I didn’t need anyone to swear me in again. It is surprising that someone is trying to declare my seat vacant when I still have one year to go. Ignorance of law is not an excuse. They declared my office vacant, claiming that PLSIEC law did not accommodate staggered election. Is that my business? How does that concern me? They are supposed to know that if there is any lacuna, it is either they find a way around it or go back to the House of Assembly. I can assure you that the government deliberately did what they did and they are now looking for an option. I am not going to accept any other option than going back to complete my tenure.
Based on the court pronouncement, when are you supposed to resume?
I have already resumed office but one thing that I want to clarify here is that if anything happens in Langtang North or there is breakdown of law and order, the government should be held responsible. The government is the one inciting Tarok nation to fight one another. Motion of notice does not mean stay; likewise appeal that has not been served does not mean stay. On the 3rd of this month, I resumed office but now they are threatening me with criminal trespassing. If I may ask, who is a criminal between me and them? Who is supposed to be charged with criminal trespassing when an impostor occupies my office? I want to thank the police for what they have done; they have prevented a situation that would have led to a bloodbath. In the first place, there was no vacancy. I am putting it to everyone that if anything happens in Langtang North, the government of Plateau State should be held responsible.
For example, in the state House of Assembly, if the nine PDP members refused to sign off on the impeachment of the Speaker, Honourable Abok Ayuba, the action would not stand. The question is: what is two-third of 24? It is 16. It means the impeachment cannot stand. What is happening in Plateau State now is impunity. The governor must call his people to order. If the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, who is the chief law enforcer, could argue in this manner, then where is the hope for justice? I have called all my supporters not to close to the secretariat because I want peace. The APC man that is occupying the office is my younger brother. Should we take up arms against each other?
What are you doing towards ensuring that the situation does not degenerate into a crisis?
If not for the timely intervention of the new Commissioner of Police, Mr Bartholomew Onyeka, Langtang North would have been plunged into a crisis that would have been difficult to curtail. But the CP’s intervention, a cabal would have removed me from office the day I resumed, after the court judgment. The CP got the information and mobilised the DPO to the council secretariat who quickly summoned the party leadership and told those responsible for the breach of the peace to give peace a chance. He was on top of the situation, having been informed about the danger that was looming. He quickly engaged the youths and relevant stakeholders who were said to have been mobilised by the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress, to usher Barrister Zulfal Rimven into office.
They want Tarok people to shed blood, but I will not be a party to that. The mobilisation would have been disastrous but the CP was able to tame the overzealous power mongers in the state who see the office of the chairman of Langtang North as a do-or-die affair. I thank the Commissioner of Police and his men, the DSS, NSCDC and the hunters group who promptly responded to our Save-Our-Soul as the local government council is under siege by people who were mobilised from a neighbouring local government to remove me from office.
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