Ex-Police Chief Defeats Goje To Clinch Gombe Senate Ticket

A retired Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Ahmed, has defeated veteran lawmaker, Senator Danjuma Goje, to clinch the All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial ticket for Gombe Central, potentially bringing an end to Goje’s 16-year stint in the National Assembly.

Goje, who has represented the district in the Senate since 2011, lost the party’s primary election held on Monday across Akko and Yamaltu/Deba Local Government Areas of Gombe State.

Announcing the results, the returning officer for the exercise, Dr. Habu Dahiru, declared Ahmed winner after polling 42,785 votes against Goje’s 10,425 votes.

Ahmed’s emergence followed an earlier endorsement by APC stakeholders in the state, who had reportedly adopted the retired police officer as the consensus candidate for the senatorial district.

However, Goje rejected the consensus arrangement and insisted on the conduct of direct primaries to determine the party’s candidate.

The outcome marks a major political upset for the former governor and influential power broker in Gombe politics.

Goje, 74, served as Minister of State for Power between 1999 and 2003 before contesting and winning the Gombe State governorship election in 2003 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Backed at the time by his political ally and former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, Goje defeated the late Governor Abubakar Hashidu of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP).

He was re-elected governor in 2007 and subsequently moved to the Senate in 2011 after completing his second term in office.

Goje defected from the PDP to the APC in 2014 and retained his Senate seat in the 2015, 2019 and 2023 general elections.
Ahmed’s victory is expected to reshape the political landscape in Gombe Central ahead of the 2027 general elections.