Some Yoruba insulted me for asking why no Igbo judge was included in Election Tribunal Panel – Jimi Disu
As the ongoing post-election tussle between the Labour Party (LP), the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and All Progressives Congress (APC) at the Court Of Appeal continues to occupy the front burner of public discourse, veteran journalist, and public affairs commentator, Jimi Disu has come out to reveal that he has been at the receiving end of a barrage of insults from a section of Yorubas in the country, simply because he demanded that there be a balance in the panel of judges presiding over the Presidential Election Tribunal, Opera News reported, citing a YouTube video.
Recall that while speaking during an interview on Nigeria Info FM’s ‘Today’s Dailies’ program on Tuesday, May 9, 2023, Disu had argued that the exclusion of a judge from the South East on the Presidential Election Tribunal panel was a bad signal for the case. He opined the same efforts that were made to include Justices from the South West and the North Central where Tinubu and Atiku hail from respectively, should have also been done to ensure an Igbo judge was part of the five-man election tribunal panel because one of the major petitioners (Peter Obi) is from the South East.
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Quite interestingly, while appearing on the same program on Thursday morning, Mr. Disu lamented that shortly after he made the demand for a judge from the Southeast to be included on the Election Tribunal Panel, insults were hurled at him by some Yorubas who accused him of being biased.
He said; “Honestly, I don’t know how the Southeast is going to organize themselves to get a piece of the leadership positions that are already being distributed by the incoming government. I must say that the Southeast has had it rough within the past 8 years. People tend to ask me what is my business with that region. My business is that I want a Nigeria that is not only peaceful but also a country that works and is fair to all. If Nigeria works and is peaceful, it is for everybody’s benefit.
It is the same issue when shortly after this program on Tuesday, people went on a binge because I observed that there was no Igbo judge on the Presidential Election Tribunal Panel. Some Yorubas came out to hurl insults at me. But all that I said that day was nothing but the simple truth. We cannot run away from who we are. There has to be a balance. But even at that, I think the political equation in the Southeast also has to be tidied up. The Igbos have to learn to put their best foot forward as well.”
