Patrick Dakum is chief executive officer of the Institute of Human Virology, Nigeria (IHVN). He is a grassroots politician and a mobiliser of men. He is one of the governorship aspirants on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Plateau State. In this interview with ZEBULON AGOMUO, he spoke about his agenda for the state if elected the governor. He also said that he believed there would be a level playing field for all aspirants as the state governor has no preferred candidate for the seat. Excerpts:
So many Nigerians are complaining about the high cost of the All Progressives Congress (APC) forms to run for the 2023 elections. What is your reaction to this?
Well, I join Nigerians to also complain of the high cost of obtaining the form and it is very high and I think the fees should have been made much cheaper and affordable. I appreciate the fact that political parties don’t have any source of revenue to sustain their secretariat, to pay their bill, pay workers and also prepare for the election. But I think that if they had lowered it, it would attract more people to purchase the form and it could have also amounted to the more money, perhaps. The other advantage of lowering the fee is to widen the net of people who have the capacity and who can move Nigeria forward. But when you put the fee very high you limit the number of people who have the capacity to be able to vie for positions like that. So, for me, I think the fee should be lowered.
Don’t you think that people’s reactions toward the high cost of the forms could affect the APC during the forth-coming election?
Not necessarily. It depends on the way and perceptions of people or their own interpretations. But the people who are in the party and who know what the party stands for- justice, etc- they will go ahead and still remain in the party. But this in not to say that because the fee is high that people are going to be attracted to this other party. No, I don’t think so. But the truth is that the fees are on the high side.
What is next now that you have obtained your governorship form?
Well, you know having spoken about the fees and things like that, the next thing for me now is to galvanise the wide support of many people that contributed to my buying this governorship form.
And people that contributed in my buying this form are well over two hundred, and these are people that believe if I am elected the governor of Plateau State, they will entrust the leadership of the state to me. So, the next thing is to galvanise them and I said that when I picked the form people should go and be fishers of delegates, people should go and be fishers of voters, and should go to educate and enlighten those who don’t have permanent voters card (PVC) to go and register and participate in this process. So, the next thing for me now is to go fishing for delegates, to go fishing for people that will vote and go fishing to ensure that people who have voters card will vote during the party primary and the main election, and that they discharge their civic responsibility very well.
So, it is a lot of hard work to be done in the next couple of days, but my movement is going to be a state wide movement. So, we have the right people in every ward and not only saying they support but they will support me with their resources and everything within their power.
From what we are hearing you are as good as being the candidate to fly the APC ticket in Plateau State and that you may likely meet a strong candidate from the PDP. But the worry among the people is that the governor did not perform up to their expectation and that this may affect the APC candidate at the end of the day. How about that?
You see, when you are assessing people you must assess them within the context of their performance and you must assess them on the number of things they have done, one is the resources available to them and two the situation in that particular state when it comes to environment for development. The governor in my own opinion has done well given the circumstances he has found himself in terms of the standing and present situation.
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There are several uncompleted projects before he came to power but instead of drawing a line like what most governors now do between them and past government administration he decided to complete those projects to the benefit of the state. About the things the Governor, Simon Lalong has done, he completed a number of projects like the state University which is now more functional. He decided to complete some of the infrastructure with the City of Joseph that is ongoing and expanded some of the infrastructure around the state. To promote peace and security, he was able to establish a peace agency that has contributed to ensure peace building.
It is difficult to measure peace building but you can only measure it in the fact that it works in terms of projects. But apart from that we have got a number of projects in the agricultural sector; for example, there is a revolution in our potato industry through the production of its seedlings that will grow everywhere. I think for me, there are too many achievements to point to which have been recorded in the course of this administration. But I think that my role is to tell Plateau people what I can do and what I can add to and build on what has been done. And Plateau is very serious on infrastructure of roads. Now, roads contribute to peace and they contribute to economy but they are capital intensive and that is very clear. But if you are able to now pursue money where ever you can find money and channel it in the right direction, there will be no problem. I have also outlined programmes related to agricultural tourism and mining so if you put a foundation on peace, security and you put a foundation on infrastructure both physical and human then you will be able to lay a footprint. And people are looking at my antecedent in the places I have worked before and now I have always made it clear that if it is well with me, it should be well with the state. If it is not well with the state, it should not be well with me; meaning that I am determined to fight for Plateau State and determined to be with Plateau in terms of peace and in sadness. And people should see a leader that is with them, providing them with the vision of where to go to. My picture of Plateau State is that I should be able to paint it to the people and then direct them on how to get it done and move in the right direction. So, I think I am coming with a very good experience, I come with faith and I also come with a lot of passion for moving plateau State forward.
What is your reaction on the assumption that your party is not well accepted in the state and that you came out at the wrong time for the governorship seat?
I do not know what is the definition of “wrong time” or my political party not being well accepted; but I know that the APC government in Plateau State has done enough based on the circumstances they found themselves. But I do know that Plateau people are used to electing candidates and not the party. In fact, Plateau State people look at the candidate more than they look at the party. It was that that formed the basis for APC coming to power in 2015, so you can clearly see that the assumption that I am in a wrong party is faulty. There is no wrong or right party but there is right candidate who will now use the party platform to galvanise development.
What are your chances of picking the party ticket under the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Plateau State?
I think I am one of the candidates that have gone round Plateau State two times. I have gone round the whole local governments and I was not going to see the delegates. I was going round to see people who are the party structure since it is not a full-fledged campaign but with consultations with the party.
So, by the time I go to see the party members at the local governments because I have got representatives in every ward, a minimum of thirteen people in every ward. I interact with them and get the feeling of development there and get the feeling of people there and I have gone round and seen the people. I have heard them and they heard me. So, for me, I have worked and consulted with the party and my consultation is still on-going until the primary is over and I have the confidence that the people I interacted with are people who are the delegates and those that will take part in the election. I have met with most of them. So, now they know me and I have interacted with different layers of people that are delegates and also senior citizens who are opinion leaders. So, this is the methodology of trying to ensure that I get myself close because Plateau is not for sale, okay? And Plateau State is not for few privileged people; Plateau State is for Plateau people and that is why I have over two hundred people that came together to contribute to get me form to run. I believe that it is Plateau State movement and it is not just Patrick Dakum.
What is your relationship with the Governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong?
My relationship with His Excellency Rt. Hon. Simon Lalong is excellent. We have been in the same political group since 1999. We have been in the trenches with him when the speaker of the House of Assembly and he was coarsed to impeach the then governor. We have been in the trenches when he was campaigning in the 2015 and I fought one of the horses here in Abuja, and also doing what I can do to raise fund when he was campaigning in 2015. I have also been part and parcel of providing advice where I can throughout his tenure. We have no cause to fight or quarrel. He has also made it public that he has no candidate and he is father to all candidates and that he is going to provide a level playing ground for all the candidates. And what reason do I have to doubt him. And has he anointed me as his favourite candidate? The answer is, No. Has he blessed me? The answer is, yes; as he has blessed everyone that has come to him for blessing. Therefore, I have every reason to believe that he is a gentleman, a leader and our party leader.
Are you saying that the governor does not have a preferred candidate for the governorship seat of Plateau State?
To the best of my knowledge, the answer is, the governor does not have any preferred candidate. But that does not mean that there are people who are parading themselves as governor’s favourite.
