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Goje to declare for Senate presidency after approval of 2019 budget

By Azimazi Jimoh, Abuja
26 April 2019   |   4:50 am
Contest for the Senate presidency became tougher yesterday as former Gombe State Governor, Danjuma Goje, has indicated that he will officially declare his interest in the race after approval of the 2019 Budget. This emerged as the Northeast youths wing of the All Progressives Congress (APC) advocated concerted effort by members of the party to…

Contest for the Senate presidency became tougher yesterday as former Gombe State Governor, Danjuma Goje, has indicated that he will officially declare his interest in the race after approval of the 2019 Budget.

This emerged as the Northeast youths wing of the All Progressives Congress (APC) advocated concerted effort by members of the party to save it from total imminent collapse.

Goje, who is Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriation, is scheduled to defend the committee’s report submitted last week on the Budget Bill next Tuesday.

A close ally to the lawmaker, who is also an APC Senator from the North, disclosed in an interview that processing the National Budget has been Goje’s major preoccupation and as such he does not want to combine his work with his aspiration.

Senate Leader, Ahmad Lawan (APC Yobe) and his predecessor, Ali Ndume (APC Borno), had declared their intention to vie for the Senate presidency.

Also yesterday at a press conference in Abuja, Northeast APC youth wing noted that the APC under the leadership of Adams Oshiohmole had caused the party so much damage because of his vested personal interests.

They argued that the last straw that would break the camel’s back is Oshiohmole’s desperation to impose leaders on the Ninth National Assembly.

Secretary of the group, Abubakar Maigari, at a media briefing in Abuja, pointed out that the threat by Oshiomhole and former Lagos State Governor, Bola Tinubu to send away members of the National Assembly, who opposed the imposition agenda, was appalling.

The APC youths noted that Tinubu’s and Oshiomhole’s leadership style has created unmanageable confusion and eventual loss of some states to the opposition in the 2019 gubernatorial and Assembly elections.

“It is irreconcilable that Tinubu who orchestrated the removal of a winning team led by John Odigie-Oyegun and foisted Oshiomhole on the party, is Oshiohmole’s alter-ego and partner in destroying the APC.

“Several members of APC have been lost to the opposition since Oshiomhole became APC National Chairman on June 23, 2018, yet the looming Ninth National Assembly leadership election crisis may threaten the party’s corporate existence.

They added that barely a month after Oshiomhole assume chairmanship of APC, 15 senators and 37 House of Representatives members defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Tuesday, July 24, 2018, just as Senate President, Bukola Saraki and Speaker Yakubu Dogara followed suit afterwards.

“Ndume and Omo-Agege were suspended for 90 legislative days, while defending APC and Buhari administration policy, yet Oshiomhole wants those who have been partner with Senate leadership in sabotaging Buhari’s government to be rewarded,” the group added.

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