Group Urges Prof. Dakum to Join the 2027 Plateau State Governorship Race

The Guild of Plateau Publishers, an agglomeration of Indigenous Publishers domiciled in the state, has beseeched Prof. Patrick Sunday Dakum, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN), and the 2023 Labour Party (LP) gubernatorial candidate to throw in the hat and join in the 2027 Plateau State gubernatorial race.

In a letter presented to Mr. Jonathan Gukut, Personal Assistant to Prof. Dakum, in his Anglo-Jos officer for onward delivery to Prof. Dakum titled "Notification of Volunteer Support for 2027 Gubernatorial Tussle," the group was quoted as saying that the "publishers deemed it fit to call on you to consider re-contesting for Plateau State governorship come 2027 in view of the prevailing stagnation of development in all spheres of the economy and increasing suffering in the state".

The group equally appealed that "we are in the know of the sabotage and betrayal meted out to you in the 2023 general elections, but that should not discourage you because countless citizens strongly believe that you were and you are still the right person with the vision, passion, and sagacity of taking Plateau State out of the woods and to enviable heights, as testified by your excellent performance as the CEO of IHVN and the records you left behind as Commissioner of Health and Information.".

The group, while pledging their support to the noble cause, emphasized that "we hereby notify you of our willingness to support you in all ramifications if you consider our plea to re-contest." They also highlighted that "we made consultations far and near, and the response is the same: you are the right person who will bring excellent governance we crave. We believe God answers prayers and makes way where there are no ways; he will see you through."In his response, Mr. Gukut, while addressing the Guild of Plateau Publishers, stated that "all of you have independent papers; by having independent papers, you have independent minds, and by having independent minds, that is why you waited, and by waiting, it shows me the level of your patience, and I truly appreciate and thank you for that".

He further asserted that; "yes, I am a messenger; I will not miss one thing, not a single word, when I am saying; the demand is a request based on what you people are saying, based on his track records, based on how friendly he is, and he was part of you people when he was a commissioner for information and never stopped at us. He has been very close friends of the media people, but unfortunately for some of your colleagues or some people that are within the media, prints, and the visual, they compromise quite a lot of things, and they no longer have that standard.".

Mr. Gukut emphatically emphasized that "I love that you people are all independent publishers, and unfortunately something that is supposed to build us as a country, as a nation, the social media has made some people think that journalism is only through social media, and unfortunately they have forgotten the people that have the history, they have the grassroots, that have what they can show for tomorrow, And because of people that do not even understand the nature, the capability and the ability of the publishers they neglected them based on that thing, we call the social media, which can vamoose with into space of time and then, leave the one you know we can go back at any time to retrieve history at the expense of what they called social "mass destruction".

Explaining further, Mr. Gukut asserted that "I love reading; I read both the social media and the prints and even listen to audios, but how many of those leaders nowadays are interested in reading? The concept of Prof. Dakum's leadership is anchored on three things; that is, leadership with a feat of God, leadership."

 Buttressing further on the Plateau Publishers' request, Mr. Gukut maintained that "being a messenger just like John the Baptist, I will definitely deliver this message in the best interest of him. He is my boss, my good friend, and I will table to him this request, even though such a request would be put to the test.

 He too will wait and see how it will work within the convenience of his own. People know how demanding politics is. But when I place those things for him, we will look at it. Is it something that we can venture into, what's needed to actualize it, measuring our poverty level based on what you have at a certain point in time?".

While lauding the impeccable qualities of Prof. Dakum's image maker, the seasoned, versatile, and media-friendly personal assistant, Mr. Gukut stressed that "when you have good image makers, it makes life easy for you. But never forget the power of incumbency in an election. In our society, a perfect example is what transpired in the recently concluded Local Government Election in Plateau State. I don't even know how those social media dominated the independent publishers by even accepting or agreeing with the election conducted, some adjudging it as the best election while in actual sense it was the worst. I was so shocked at that time. Because what I saw was totally unacceptable, this is the worst election. Even that of Lalong, even that of Jang, the best ever election was during Dariye, where people from other different political parties or parties other than the ruling party won the elections.Speaking on the level of infrastructural development in the state, Mr. Gukut berated the current administration, citing the unprecedented development in other neighboring states and bemoaning that "you see, because you people are reading, you know, you see what other states are doing. A lot of people don't even know what is happening or the direction in which the government is heading. Some just go to the social media, and they just end their knowledge of knowing the truth.".

Refuting the insinuation making the round that Prof. Dakum is gunning for the Plateau Central Senatorial seat, Mr. Gukut stated that "outrightly, that is not true," noting that the ideologies behind Prof. Dakum's governorship bid cannot just be reduced to senatorial ambition, insisting that the philosophy of Prof. Dakum's governorship bid was anchored on the reason for governance, "I want to have a replica of the governance that our Almighty God asked us to do; that is number one, and then the second one is, what will I do differently to make the younger generation believe that governance is not for enriching oneself?" Number three is, I will govern with the quality and human face.

Reeling the essential resume and exceptional acumen of Prof. Dakum, Mr. Gukut asserted that Prof. Dakum, being a practical scientist who teaches implementing science at the University of Maryland, USA, would always want to look at and justify his earnings  by what he does. Those things are just common knowledge about the personality of Prof. Dakum and I have had quite a lot of them.".