Gombe PDP offers Goje Senate ticket to support Pantami

Our correspondent has confirmed that Senator Muhammad Danjuma Goje, a former governor of Gombe State, is under tremendous pressure to leave the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and join the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in order to help Prof. Ali Isa Pantami win the state.

The PDP’s governorship candidate and former governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo have reportedly been pressuring Senator Goje to join the PDP when it became apparent that the All Progressives Congress (APC) would not give him a ticket, according to information obtained by Daily Mirror.

Goje’s fans and political associates from all three of the state’s senatorial districts joining the PDP, according to PDP members, will increase the party’s chances and open the door for Prof. Pantami to win in February 2027.

After serving two terms as the state’s governor, the former governor, who has been representing the Gombe Central Senatorial District since 2011, failed to place in the APC’s direct primary poll.

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Goje has followers in all three of the state’s senatorial districts after producing two governors.

When the Gombe State APC House of Representatives and Senate Primary Elections Committee announced DCP Mohammed Ahmed (Rtd) as the legitimately elected candidate for the Gombe Central Senatorial District seat, his attempt to return to the Senate for a fifth term was thwarted.

Following the primary, Goje challenged the results of the Gombe Central senatorial primary election in a statement sent thru his Special Assistant, Ahmed Isa Kashere. He called the results announced by Dr. Dahiru “fake” and stated that the real results would be made public in Abuja.

Goje was reportedly thinking of joining the PDP in order to save his place in the National Assembly, nevertheless, since his name was not on the list of winning candidates published by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) last Saturday.

Goje, the political godfather of nearly all the political title holders in the region, is allegedly being courted by the PDP and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) to join them and increase their chances in the run-up to the 2027 national elections.

However, our correspondent was informed by anonymous sources in Goje’s camp that talks about his potential defection to the PDP are still in progress.

Goje was one of the PDP’s founding fathers in 1998. During the first term of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, he was Minister of State for Power and Steel. Under the party’s platform, he later held the office of governor of Gombe State for two terms.

He became a member of the APC in 2014, and in 2019 he assisted the party in overthrowing the PDP. Goje lost the APC primary election last May as a result of a strained relationship between him and his political godson, Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya.

The Isa Pantami factor

According to our correspondent, Goje is a significant figure in Gombe politics regardless of party allegiance, and Pantami’s side is attempting to get him to join the PDP. Ahead of the 2027 elections, they thot Goje’s switch to the PDP would strengthen the opposition and change political coalitions.

Political analysts claim that Prof. Isa Ali Pantami’s appointment to the PDP governorship has improved the party’s electoral prospects.

Pantami currently has a sizable following, particularly among young people and grassroots activists who regard him as a “saviour” and reformer.

Party supporters would unite behind all of the party’s candidates, according to political analyst Musa Tijjani, in order to secure as many seats as possible and bolster their numbers prior to the governorship elections.

“The PDP’s popularity has increased since Pantami joined, and Goje’s eventual entry will significantly change Gombe State politics.” As a result, the majority of people who back the former governor will flock to the polls to cast their ballots for the party’s candidates in every elected seat.

He stated, “Even Pantami himself will be happy to have people of Senator Danjuma Goje’s calibre in the party, so as to boost his supporters’ morale and ensure that Goje in return extends the same support to him during the governorship election.”

According to political analysts, if Goje joins the PDP, he will change the political landscape of the state and present a serious threat to the incumbent APC in the upcoming general elections in 2027.