Mohammed Danjuma Goje (born 10 October 1952) was a former

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Gombe State Gombe State (; ) is a States of Nigeria, state in North East (Nigeria), northeastern Nigeria, bordered to the north and northeast by the states of Borno State, Borno in the vicinity of Gongola River and Lake Dadin Kowa Dam, Dadin Kowa and Yobe S ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

under the platform of the People's Democratic Party (PDP), taking office on 29 May 2003 during the 2003 Gombe State gubernatorial election. He is now a member of the

All Progressives Congress The All Progressives Congress (APC) is one of the two major contemporary political parties in Nigeria, along with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Founded on 6 February 2013 from a merger of Nigeria's three largest opposition parties, t ...

(APC).

Early life and education

Goje was born in Pindiga, Akko LGA of Gombe State. He studied political science and graduated from

Ahmadu Bello University The Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) is a public research university located in Zaria, Nigeria, Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria. It was opened in 1962 as the University of Northern Nigeria. The university has four colleges, three schools, 18 faculties, ...

(ABU)

Zaria Zaria is a List of Nigerian cities by population, metropolitan city in Nigeria, located at present time within four local government areas in Kaduna State. It serves as the capital of the Zazzau Emirate Council and is one of the original sev ...

. He was a member of the Bauchi State House of Assembly from 1979 to 1983. Goje became the Secretary of the National Institute For Medical Research in

Yaba, Lagos Yaba is a suburb located on Lagos Mainland, Lagos in Lagos State, Nigeria. With its educational institutions and technological start-ups, Yaba is considered the technological hub of Lagos. Inaugurated in 2021, the ultra-modern Mobolaji Johnson C ...

State in 1984, continuing until 1989.

Political career

On 25 April 1998 Goje contested and won the seat of

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

representing Gombe Senatorial District on the platform of

United Nigeria Congress Party The United Nigeria Congress Party (UNCP) was a Nigerian political party. It was one of the five state-sanctioned political parties allowed by the government of General Sani Abacha to participate in state assembly elections held in December 1997, i ...

conducted by the National Electoral Commission of Nigeria (NECON) in the aborted democratic transition of General

Sani Abacha Sani Abacha (; (20 September 1943 – 8 June 1998) was a Nigerian military dictator and statesman who ruled Nigeria with an iron fist as military head of state from 1993 following a palace coup d'état until his death in 1998. Abacha's seiz ...

. He went on to establish his own business, Zaina Nigeria Ltd, from 1989 to 1999. The company was named after his mother, Hajiya Zainab. Goje contested for the seat of Senator in the

Nigerian National Assembly The National Assembly of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is a bicameralism, bicameral legislature established under section 4 of the Constitution of Nigeria The body consists of 109 members of the Senate of Nigeria, Senate and 360 members from ...

in 1998 and later on became the Minister of State, Power and Steel from 1999 to 2001 under President

Olusegun Obasanjo Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo (; ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian former army general, politician and statesman who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its president from 1999 to 200 ...

. He was a two times elected Governor of

from 2003 to 29 May 2011. In the April 2011 elections, he was elected Senator for Gombe Central on the PDP ticket. He was then re-elected in 2015, 2019 and 2023 General

election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...

Senate presidency

Senator Goje stepped down for Senator Ahmad Lawan from the Senate Presidency race after meeting with President

Muhammadu Buhari Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2015 to 2023. A retired Nigerian army major general, he was the military head of state of Nigeria from 31 December 1983 to 27 Augu ...

on Thursday, 6 June 2019. From June 2019 through June 2023, Senator Danjuma Goje is the chairman of the Marine Transport Committee in the Senate.

Awards and honours

* Awards of Excellence and Exemplary Leadership, (YOWICAN) * Award of Excellence, Nigerian Medical Association * Special Merit Award (ASCON) * Youth Merit Award, 2009 * Merit Award (NIOB)

References

Notes