Prof. Jerry Gana, a founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party, has stated that former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi would defeat any candidate in Nigeria’s northern states if he ran on the PDP platform.
On Arise TV’s Prime Time on Wednesday, Gana stated, “I’m a researcher, and I investigate opinions. In the northern states, Peter Obi under the PDP will defeat any candidate, because our people are very fair-minded.”
Peter Obi left the PDP in May 2022 to lead the Labour Party in the 2023 election.
Reflecting on the PDP’s origins, the chieftain emphasised the party’s grassroots strength and its critical role in restoring democratic governance.
He said, “I must confess that many people have forgotten that the PDP was created as a grassroots organisation. In 1998, we were formed, and then, moving to the elections in 1999, we were in every polling unit, because we are the ones who really won the first election.
“Many people have forgotten that the PDP won most of the local governments. When it came to the presidential elections, we won the presidency, we won the Senate, and 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.
“Because for a number of years there was military rule, but we successfully terminated that in a very democratic way, so the PDP was really, as it were, a grassroots party. That’s why when we said ‘power to the people,’ we meant it because that was what it was, and it has been like that.”
Speaking on recent party conflicts, he downplayed their scale, saying, “So when this recent problem happened, it was really among a few elites here in Abuja. It didn’t even go beyond.”
Gana, who served as Minister of Information and Cooperation under former president Olusegun Obasanjo from 1999 to 2003, also hinted at equity in party zoning, saying, “In 2031, it will be the turn of the North. Our people are very fair, and we are building a nation.”
