Tribune
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.
