Pressure mounts on Goje to dump Senate Presidency bid

Days to the inauguration and election of leaders of the ninth Senate, one of the aspirants, Danjuma Goje, is under pressure to drop his Senate Presidency ambition.

Goje, a former Gombe state governor and member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), is one of the contenders for the Senate President position.

However, the APC had declared for Senate Leader, Senator Ahmad Lawan after zoning the position to the North-East.

Pulse understands that “the powers from above“ have asked Goje “to forget” the Senate President bid "or face the EFCC".

"The powers from above have been pressurizing him [Goje] not to declare his ambition to become the Senate President," the source said. "In fact, they don't want him to run because he would get it. The PDP lawmakers would gladly vote for Goje. But, they are mounting pressure on him to forget it because of his EFCC case and the support for [Ahmad] Lawan," the source added.

Goje vs EFCC

In 2015, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Gombe state had arraigned Goje over an alleged N5 billion fraud.

A witness for the EFCC alleged that Goje forged a resolution of the State House of Assembly to secure a N5 billion loan while he was governor.

Shehu Atiku, a former Clerk of the State House of Assembly, told the Federal High Court in Gombe that Goje forged the document to obtain the loan from Access Bank.

Similarly, the Federal High Court sitting in Jos gave an order for Goje's arrest on Tuesday, October 4, 2016, in connection with another N25 billion fraud charge brought against the former governor by the EFCC.

Also, on Thursday, April 20, 2017, the Police raided Goje's Abuja residence following a tip off from an anonymous source.

According to the Police, a total of $19,000 , 4,000 Saudi Riyals and N18 million cash was found during the raid.

'Ex-governors back Goje'

Another source told Pulse that most former governors elected into Senate have thrown their weight behind Goje.

"These former governors have a very strong bond. I can tell you that they would all vote for Goje if he declares," the source announced.

"In fact, Goje is a bigger threat than Ali Ndume. These governors coming into the Senate would not want to bow or call someone who is not a former governor 'Mr President'. They are all like that.

"They understand this hence the moves to prevent him [Goje] from joining the race," the source added.