By Olatunbosun Obafemi
A founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Professor Jerry Gana, has stated that Mr. Peter Obi would comfortably defeat any presidential contender in northern Nigeria if he were to contest under the PDP platform. Gana, a former Minister of Information and a key figure in Nigeria’s return to democratic rule in 1999, made the remark during an interview on Arise TV on Wednesday.
“I’m a researcher, and I research opinions. In the northern states, Peter Obi under the PDP will defeat any candidate, because our people are very fair minded,” Gana said.
Obi, who was the PDP’s vice-presidential candidate in 2019, left the party in May 2022 to contest the 2023 presidential election under the Labour Party. Despite his departure, Gana believes Obi’s national appeal, especially in the North, would have been more pronounced had he stayed in the PDP.
Reflecting on the PDP’s history, Gana emphasized its grassroots foundation and its critical role in restoring democracy to Nigeria after years of military rule. “Many people have forgotten that the PDP was created as a grassroots organisation,” he said. “In 1998, we were formed and then, moving to the elections in 1999, we were in every polling unit… We won the presidency, the Senate, and the House. We were totally in control.”
He maintained that the party’s slogan, Power to the People, was not just a phrase but a reflection of its widespread support and democratic ethos.
Addressing internal wranglings within the PDP, Gana dismissed recent disputes as elite-driven and limited in scope. “When this recent problem happened, it was really among a few elites here in Abuja. It didn’t even go beyond,” he noted.
On the future of leadership in the party, Gana hinted at a return to zoning principles, suggesting that the North will take its turn in the presidential rotation come 2031. “Our people are very fair, and we are building a nation,” he added.
Gana served in President Obasanjo’s cabinet from 1999 to 2003 and remains an influential voice in Nigeria’s political landscape.
