Dakum urges Tinubu to address delay in swearing-in of Plateau legislators

The Plateau State gubernatorial candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 election, Dr Patrick Dakum, has called for the intervention of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over the delay by the Speaker of the Plateau State House of Assembly, Hon. Gabriel Dewan, to swear in seven members elected as state legislators.

Even as the LP gubernatorial candidate, Dakun described the non-appointment of a minister from Plateau State as a disservice to the state.

Dr Dakum expressed disappointment in an interview that the fate of the seven members was still in limbo despite court pronouncements in their favour, adding that it was undemocratic to continue to keep them in suspense without any cogent or legal reason.

“For democracy to thrive, court orders must be obeyed, whether palatable or unpalatable. There is absolutely no reason why the members-elect of the Court of Appeal declared winners 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 taken its decision, and there is nothing anyone can do about it but to obey the court’s decisions. It is democracy to obey court order, whether in our favour or not.”

He stated that it’s an abuse of democracy to procrastinate swearing in of the members-elect because it is nothing short of denying their constituents the right to be represented in the House, thereby making the government incomplete, adding that everyone should be carried along and no constituency should be left behind in the interest of democracy, good governance, progress, and justice.

Dr. Dakun, who is also the Chief Executive Officer, Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN),  strongly condemned the president’s delay in appointing a new minister to fill in the gap created by the exit of Simon Lalong (then Minister of Labour) to be in the National Assembly, having secured his victory at the appellate court.

According to him, it’s totally unfair to deny Plateau participation in the Federal Executive Council, FEC, for over six months for not having a minister, which is not the state’s fault. This action he took excludes Plateau from the running of the country’s affairs in the capacity of ministerial activities as enshrined in the Constitution of the Federal Republic and is undemocratic.

“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 said.

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