Prof. Jerry Gana, founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former Minister of Information, has declared that if Peter Obi returns to the PDP, he will defeat any Northern candidate in the 2027 presidential election.
Speaking during an interview on Arise TV’s Prime Time on Wednesday, Gana addressed ongoing speculations about Obi’s possible return to the PDP, despite the former Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate’s recent activities with the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Obi left the PDP in May 2022 to pursue his 2023 presidential bid under the LP banner. However, Gana emphasized the PDP’s enduring grassroots strength, especially in Northern states, where he believes Obi, as a PDP candidate, would enjoy broad support.
“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.
Revealing ongoing efforts to bring Obi back to the PDP, he added, “We are reaching out to Peter Obi. Because 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.”
Gana also admitted that the PDP mishandled Obi’s departure ahead of the 2023 elections. “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,” he lamented.
Addressing recent internal party crises, Gana downplayed their significance, saying the conflicts were confined to “a few elites in Abuja” and did not reflect the sentiments of the party’s grassroots base.
“I must confess that many people have forgotten that the PDP was created as a grassroots organization,” he said.
He recounted PDP’s historical dominance since its formation in 1998, highlighting the party’s electoral successes in the 1999 elections and its role in restoring democracy after years of military rule.
“Many people have forgotten the PDP won most of the local governments, when it came to the presidential elections, we won the presidency, we won the Senate, we won the House. We were totally in control, and that is why we were very delighted that we restored democracy to Nigeria and re-established civil rule,” Gana said.
He concluded by emphasizing that the recent turmoil was limited to a small group of elites and did not affect the party’s grassroots foundation: “So when this recent problem happened, it was really among a few elites here in Abuja. It didn’t even go beyond.”
