A former governor who pleaded not to be named said Goje is qualified to lead the Senate but they don't want him to disagree with Buhari
The president and some leaders of the APC earlier had a meeting with Senator Goje over the position
Emerging reports have claimed that some former governors are beginning to persuade their former colleague, Senator Danjuma Goje, to accept President Muhammadu Buhari’s choice of Ahmad Lawan for Senate president.
The Nation reports that Lawan, met with some senators-elect and pleaded with them to give him a chance.
A senator-elect said: “The campaign team of the Senate Leader reached out to some of us across party lines. I am new, but I am impressed by his experience on legislative business. Let us see how it goes."
The All Progressives Congress (APC) former governors, including some of them who are senators, have opted to back Buhari’s decision on Lawan. Some of the former governors include Ahmed Sani Yerima, Adamu Aliero, Abdullahi Adamu, Aliyu Wammako, George Akume, Bukar Abba Ibrahim, Kabiru Gaya and Godswill Akpabio.
The ex-governors have sent a delegation to Goje to reconsider his position. Although two of them were with Goje for what was termed “a social gathering", it was unclear whether they were the ones who spoke on behalf of their colleagues.
A former governor, who pleaded not to be named, said: “It is true we are trying to avoid cracks in APC over the ninth Senate president and some of us have met on the president’s choice and how to prevail on Goje to sacrifice his aspiration.
“I can tell you that some of us have opened talks with him. We are talking to him; we are mounting pressure. We also decided to send a delegation to him.
“As a matter of right, Goje is qualified to lead the Senate but we do not really want him to disagree with the president. And he is not a leader who believes in confrontation. Our intervention is just a follow-up to the audience between the president and Goje. The former governor of Gombe state is yet to make any categorical statement on his ambition.”
Another source said: “Since a presidential intervention is already involved, we have deliberately asked Lawan to leave the initiative to President Buhari.
"The truth is that the President’s meeting with Goje underscored the enormous respect he has for the ex-governor. Lawan is ready to meet with Goje but after the elders and the ex-governors have brokered a deal.”
A source at the session quoted Lawan as saying: “Give me a chance, I will provide quality leadership, I will carry every Senator along in whatever I do.”
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