Federal High Court sitting in Jos will, today, look into the case of wrongful substitution filed by the deputy gubernatorial candidate of Labour Party (LP) in Plateau State, Jack Bot.
Bot explained that he decided to challenge his purported substitution as the deputy governorship candidate in court to test the efficacy of the new Electoral Act as an antidote for political impunity.
According to him, until the pre-election cases in various courts are resolved, it will not be proper to begin to exult in the Electoral Act 2022, since politicians have continued to operate in their old ways, contrary to the “wonderful piece of legislation.”
On a visit to newsmen in Abuja, yesterday, Bot expressed shock that highly-placed individuals in a political party could connive with desperate politicians to infringe on the due process by nominating candidates.
Citing the case of Plateau LP, he said he was puzzled that his name was missing on the list of candidates published by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on October 5, 2022.
“It was a shock and the biggest surprise of my life. I was waiting to see my name to be published alongside that of my boss, the gubernatorial candidate. Unfortunately, I saw that INEC published a different name completely.
“This calls for concern, and I wish to take further steps to ask why and what happened. As far as I am concerned, I remain the authentic running mate to Amb. Yohanna Margif. There was no time I was told that I was no longer the candidate.
“We followed all the due process; all the delegates from the 17 local councils of Plateau voted,. Margif, being the lone aspirant, emerged unopposed as the winner with 100 per cent delegates votes,” he narrated.
The distraught LP governorship running mate remarked that he’s approaching the court to subject the electoral process into legal scrutiny, pointing out that at no time did LP announce a cancellation of the governorship primary or holding of a fresh one.
He stated: “We have come at a crucial intersection in our democratic journey in this country. Those who insist on carrying on with business-as-usual should be made to know that a new Nigeria beckons.
“If at all there was any information (about a repeat primary), at least the previous day, being August 4, the party’s legal counsel and I talked with the national chairman in his office. If there were any information, at least, we would have had a pre-information.
“If courtesy is to be maintained, we deserve to know, because apart from being members of the party, we are also the flag-bearers. So, that is why, till today, it is still sounding very strange that no communication was put across.”
Bot said the emergence of Peter Obi and associated youth momentum behind LP had shown that an end was in sight for money politics and abuse of due process by those who feel that things must go their way because of their affluence.