Jerry Gana, a founding figure of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said he is heading a team tasked with identifying the party’s presidential candidate for the 2027 elections.
Recently, the former minister of information revealed that efforts are underway to bring Peter Obi, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), back into the PDP.
Obi, who previously served as governor of Anambra, left the PDP on May 25, 2022, ahead of the 2023 general election.
He had been preparing to participate in the PDP’s presidential primary scheduled for May 28, 2022, before resigning.
On May 27, 2022, Obi officially joined the LP, where he became the party’s presidential candidate for the 2023 election.
While speaking on Prime Time, an Arise Television programme, on Wednesday, Gana said the PDP’s platform is now “so good, fascinating, and real” that some rivals may avoid contesting against it in the 2027 presidential election.
He also confirmed that efforts are ongoing to persuade Obi, who is also being considered by the African Democratic Congress (ADC), to return to the PDP.
“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.
“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,” he said.
Gana added that the PDP mishandled the events that led to Obi’s departure from the party.
“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 said.
