The 2023 governorship candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in Plateau State, Dr. Patrick Dakum, has appealed to President Ahmed Bola Tinubu to appoint a new Minister from Plateau State to replace Senator Simon Lalong. It will be recalled that Sen. Lalong was the Minister of Labour and Productivity, who later resigned and went to the Senate after the judgement of the Appeal Court which affirmed him as the Senator Representing Plateau South Senatorial District. Since then nobody has replaced him in the Federal Executive Council.
Speaking to Sunday Telegraph in Jos on Saturday Dr. Dakum lamented that the President’s delay in appointing a new minister to fill in the gap created by the exit of Lalong is a total disservice to Plateau State and must be remedied immediately. He said: “It is unfair to deny Plateau participation in the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for over six months due to not having a minister, which is not the state’s fault. He added that this action excludes Plateau from participating in the country’s affairs in ministerial activities as enshrined in the constitution of the Federal Republic and is undemocratic. He said: “Democracy entails carrying everyone along, following due process, observing the rule of law, and dispensing justice to all without delay. There is no genuine reason for Plateau to be without a minister for this long, which denies its participation in decision-making for good governance in the country. There are capable and eligible hands in the state that can handle any ministry, so why delay the appointment.”
Dakum, who is the Chief Executive Officer of the Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN) in Abuja, also expressed concern about the delay by the Speaker of the Plateau State House of Assembly in swearing in the remaining seven members-elect as state legislators. He appealed to the Speaker, Gabriel Dewan, in the spirit of a united Plateau, to swear in the members-elect. Dakum said that for democracy to thrive, court orders must be obeyed, whether palatable or unpalatable.
He said: “There is no reason why the memberselect, declared winners by the Court of Appeal, should not be in the House working. “It doesn’t make sense. I don’t understand why and how because it is the same judiciary that said the governor is PDP, and the House is APC, so what’s the rocket science in that? The court has already made its decision, and there is nothing anyone can do about it but obey the court’s decisions. It is democratic to obey court orders whether they are in our favour or not.”
