Former Gombe State Governor and Senator representing Gombe Central, Danjuma Goje, has said he is not currently defecting from the All Progressives Congress, despite the omission of his name from the Independent National Electoral Commission’s final list of candidates for the 2027 general elections.
Goje, who has represented Gombe Central in the Senate since 2011, said he was consulting political stakeholders and would announce his next political move at the appropriate time.
Speaking to his supporters on Saturday at his residence in Gombe, the former governor urged them to remain loyal to the party’s leaders and prepare for his eventual directive.
“Do not listen to betrayers, go home, prepare, be loyal to our party leaders and wait for my final order,” Goje said.
He added, “I am not defecting to any party now, however I am consulting stakeholders, but I promise I will be with my supporters with or without a Senate ticket.”
The comments came amid growing speculation over Goje’s political future following his loss of the APC senatorial ticket for Gombe Central and his subsequent omission from INEC’s final list of candidates for the 2027 elections especially overtures by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party to hand him senatorial slot.
INEC’s final list, released earlier in August, did not include Goje among the candidates for the Gombe Central senatorial seat.
Goje had contested the APC senatorial primary but lost the party’s ticket to another aspirant. Reports from the primary indicated that Mohammed Ahmed emerged as the APC candidate for Gombe Central.
His supporters had earlier rejected the party’s consensus arrangement that replaced him as the proposed APC candidate for the district, with his camp questioning the process.
The latest comments by Goje appear to have further fuelled speculation about his political future, particularly amid reports of overtures from opposition politicians.
However, the former governor has yet to announce any decision to leave the APC, insisting that he is consulting stakeholders before taking a position.
Goje, who served as governor of Gombe State between 2003 and 2011, was re-elected to the Senate in 2023 for a fourth term representing Gombe Central.
With his name absent from the 2027 senatorial candidates’ list, attention is now focused on whether the veteran politician will remain within the APC, support another candidate, or eventually seek an alternative political platform.
For now, Goje has asked his supporters to remain calm, loyal and ready for his “final order.”