Former Minister of Information and founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Professor Jerry Gana, has said that Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, would easily secure northern votes if he returns to the PDP.
Speaking during an interview on Arise News Prime Time, Gana argued that Obi, a former Anambra State governor, would outperform any rival in the North under the PDP platform. His remarks come amid speculation over Obi’s possible return to the PDP, despite his recent engagements with the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
“The PDP is on the ground. 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 and just,” Gana said.
Obi left the PDP in May 2022 to contest the 2023 presidential election under the Labour Party.
Gana, who has been vocal in advocating for Obi’s return to the PDP, disclosed that reconciliation efforts were ongoing. “We are reaching out to Peter Obi. I’m leading a search team, and there are many brilliant people. Peter may be good, but we have somebody better. So, we are searching,” he noted.
He also acknowledged that the PDP made strategic errors in the lead-up to the 2023 elections, particularly in how it handled Obi’s departure.
“We made a mistake in 2023. If I were Atiku, I would say, ‘Peter, it is now your turn; I would give you a vice-president,’ but he didn’t,” Gana said.
Addressing the current internal challenges facing the PDP, Gana downplayed the crisis, saying it was restricted to a few elite figures in Abuja and did not reflect the broader mood of the party across the country.
“I must confess that many people have forgotten that the PDP was created as a grassroots organization,” he said. “In 1998, we formed the PDP and by the 1999 elections, we had presence in every polling unit. We won the presidency, the Senate, the House of Representatives, and most local governments.”
He added that the party played a central role in ending military rule and restoring democracy in Nigeria.
“When we said ‘power to the people,’ we meant it. So when this recent problem happened, it was really among a few elites here in Abuja. It didn’t even go beyond,” Gana stressed.
