There is intense pressure on a former Governor of Gombe State, Senator Muhammad Danjuma Goje, to defect from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and support its governorship candidate, Prof Ali Isa Pantami to win the state, our correspondent has confirmed. Daily Trust learnt that both former Governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo and the PDP’s governorship candidate,have been lobbying and mounting pressure on Senator Goje to defect to the PDP since it became clear that the All Progressives Congress (APC) is not offering him its ticket. Members of the PDP widely believe that Goje’s supporters and political associates across the three senatorial districts of the state joining the PDP will boost the party’s chances and pave the way for the victory of Prof. Pantami come February 2027. The former governor, who has been representing the Gombe Central Senatorial District since 2011, after his two terms as governor of the state, did not make it in the direct primary election conducted by the APC for the Gombe Central Senatorial District. Goje, having produced two governors in the state, has supporters across the three senatorial districts of the state. His bid to return to the Senate for the fifth time suffered a setback when the Gombe State APC House of Representatives and Senate Primary Elections Committee declared DCP Mohammed Ahmed (Rtd) as the duly elected candidate for the Gombe Central Senatorial District seat. Goje had in a statement issued through his Special Assistant, Ahmed Isa Kashere, after the primary, disputed the outcome of the senatorial primary election for Gombe Central, describing the result announced by Dr Dahiru as fake, saying the authentic results will be released in Abuja. However, with his name not on the list of successful candidates of the National Assembly released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) last Saturday, Goje was said to be considering a move to the PDP, in order to retain his seat at the National Assembly. Both the PDP and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) were said to be scouting for Goje, who is the political godfather of almost all the political title holders in the, to join them and boost their chances ahead of the 2027 general elections. But sources from Goje’s camp who crave for anonymity, told our correspondent that discussion are ongoing between Goje and the PDP on his possible defection to the PDP. Goje was among the founding fathers of the PDP in 1998, he served as Minister of State for Power and Steel during former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s first tenure. He subsequently served as two-term governor of Gombe state under the party’s platform. He joined the APC in 2014 and helped the party to wrest power from the PDP in 2019. However, relationship between him and his political godson, Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya went sour which led to Goje’s defeat at the APC primary election last May. Isa Pantami factor Our correspondent gathered that Pantami’s camp are making advances to bring Goje into the PDP, being a major figure in Gombe politics irrespective of party affiliation. They believed that Goje’s defection to the PDP will reshape political alliances and boost the opposition camp ahead of the 2027 elections. According to political pundits, the emergence of Prof. Isa Ali Pantami as PDP governorship has boosted the party’s chances at the polls. At present, Pantami commands a massive followership, especially among the youth and people at the grassroots, who see him as a reformer and ‘saviour.’ A political commentator, Musa Tijjani said party loyalists will rally around all candidates fielded by the party, to ensure that they won as many seats as possible to strengthen their ranks ahead of the governorship polls. “Since Pantami joined the PDP, the party’s popularity received a boost, and with Goje eventual joining that will be massive alteration to the politicking in Gombe state. As such, the majority of voters who support the former governor will throng to the polling booth to vote for the party’s candidates across all elective seats. “Even Pantami himself will be happy to have people with the caliber of Senator Danjuma Goje in the party, so as to boost his supporters’ morale, and also ensure that Goje in return extends the same support to him during the governorship election,” he said. Political observers stated that, in the event Goje joins the PDP, he will alter the state political permutation and pose a great challenge to ruling APC in the forthcoming 2027 general elections.
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