By Sunday Ani
In this interview, Dr. Patrick Sunday Dakum, the Labour Party governorship candidate in Plateau State, says that the massive crowd that attended the party’s campaign kick off is a testimony that the party is loved in the state
What was your message to Plateau State people as the Labour Party kickstarts their governorship campaign for the forthcoming general election come 2023?
Well, my key message to Plateau State people as we kickstart our campaign for the general election for the Labour Party is the fact that there is hope for Plateau and for Nigeria; there is hope and our hope lies in our thrust in God but it also lies in our determination of the teams we present. We presented myself as the governorship candidate, a public health institution with international repute and my deputy who is a legal luminary, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and a life bencher. So we are a team that is ready to go to work on day one and for us, the kick off of our campaign today, December 21st of 2022 was a confirmation of the support that Labour Party has all over Plateau as you can see that from every federal ward, people on their own came out to support us. And every village and town we pass, people came out dancing and cheering as the Labour Party train arrives for the three hours drive from Jos, the state capital from where we flagged off our campaign.
And my message to them was the fact that one, we are going to ensure that along side our president Peter Obi to work on issue of security and peace that is a big elephant in the home of development, but number two is that the economic drivers of Plateau of State are very clear to us; one is agriculture, two is tourism and three is mining, so we already have a clear cut idea of what we need to do around the economy and also to ensure that within the context of the laws, provide them and we do what we can to ensure that our people go about their duties without any fear or being molested on the road.
So Plateau State people came out and made a statement as we flag off our campaign today, that they are now Labour from top to bottom.
So what is the takeaway from all that happened during the kick off of your governorship campaign?
The take away from what happened is that Plateau State people are ready to vote for Labour Party based on what we presented and the team they can thrust is the Labour Party team; so for us, we are good to go. Now we can walk down to the polling units level and we are already on the road to success.
Why did you choose December 21st to kickstart your governorship campaign?
Honestly, it is just because in the first place, we have been having a case in court which we wanted to deal with and by the grace of God and that was dealt with in our favour and now I feel it is time to come out and tell the people of Plateau State that now, the real campaign starts, but of course before then, we have been making consultations here and there, but now you are going to see series of rallies, town hall meetings and series of individual consultations with key stakeholders which will take us to every polling unit.
So what next?
We will be having engagements with different stakeholders in different local governments and will be having many rallies in one local government to the other, but above all, we will be solidifying on the support we already enjoy.
What is it that Plateau State people should expect from the Labour Party campaign train?
They should expect a very peaceful campaign and issue based campaign and a campaign we should build on the labours of our heroes past.
The Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate in the state says it is the PDP all the way, What is your reaction towards that?
Well, the people of Plateau State have shown today that the Labour Party is the party that is ahead of every other party in the state and recently, there had been polls that have shown that Labour Party is ahead, so I think he is talking from the position of defeat.
Recently, civil servants in Plateau State embarked on five days warning strike, what is your reaction to that?
Well, the civil servants are part of the Labour Party, so we are working together with them and that one is very clear because the Labour Party belongs to the civil servants because it belongs to the NLC.
Finally, as you go out to meet Plateau State people, what is your message to them?
Plateau State people should expect a peaceful campaign and go out and vote for, Papa, Mama Pikin.