Ime Akpan
Five days to the inauguration of the ninth senate, an aspirant for senate presidency, Mr. Danjuma Goje, has withdrawn from the race and endorsed the anointed candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for post, Mr. Ahmad Lawan.
Goje disclosed this to journalists after he, alongside Lawan, Kaduna Central senator-elect, Mr. Uba Sani, the governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai and the senior special assistant to the president on national assembly matters, Mr. Ita Enang, emerged from a closed-door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari in Aso Villa, Abuja on Thursday.
He said he was asked by President Buhari to withdraw from the race.
He said he had agreed to the requests of the President despite calls for him to vie for the senate presidency seat.
Besides, he said his decision was borne out of personal conviction, his love and respect for the APC.
For his part, El-Rufai expressed appreciation to Goje for the sacrifice.
“I am very pleased to announce that distinguished Sen. Goje has agreed to fully endorse and support the choice of the party and that of the President within the senate; that is Lawan.
“We are very grateful to Goje for his sacrifice, patience; this discussion has been going on for a long time and I am honoured to be part of it and I am grateful to him for recognising the many years we have worked together when he was minister.
“I know him to be a man of impeccable integrity and a man of his word and I am very honoured that he has come to see the president and to conclude this matter once and for all,’’ he said.
With this development, the senate presidency post is now a two-horse race between Lawan and Mr. Ali Ndume.
