Nigeria’s former minister of information and a founding father of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) Professor Jerry Gana on Wednesday rose in stout defence of the minister of the Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, Nyesom Wike, over his open antagonism towards the PDP, stating that the former Rivers State governor was being misunderstood, and was “terribly maltreated” by the party.
The former director-general of the defunct Mass Mobilisation for Self-Reliance, Social Justice, and Economic Recovery, MAMSER, under the President Ibrahim Babangida regime, also disclosed how former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, as presidential candidate of the PDP, bungled a peace initiative that would have united the party against the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, in 2023 following the crisis that erupted after the party’s primary election.
Speaking in an interview on ARISE Prime Time monitored by Newsmata.com.ng, Prof. Gana also revealed that the PDP has raised a search team for a strong presidential candidate from the south, hinting that efforts were being made to bring the former 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi back to the PDP.
He said though Obi is strong enough to defeat the candidate of any other party in the north, there were however better candidates than him that the party is trying to head-hunt.
With Wike not hiding his disdain for the PDP and declaring his stance that he would support President Tinubu’s re-election in 2027, Prof. Gana believed that when the chips are down, Wike would have a change of heart, while those supporting him would have no choice but to withdraw their support.
According to him, “People misunderstand Wike. Wike is a lover of the PDP; he would have gone long ago. Genuinely, not only does he love the PDP, but he had also deliberately invested in the PDP more than anyone else. He loves the PDP. Some of the things that happened that pained him; you just watch him between now and the next convention, you will see Wike change because really, he was terribly maltreated.
“I had the privilege, in my house, as one of the founding fathers, during 2023. I called the former vice president, because a friend of his from Kaduna came to see me, and said, look, you are one of the founding fathers. Call these people to order; they’re going to scatter this thing. He honoured me. He came, and I called Wike. He came all the way by a private flight from Port Harcourt – two of them, with me in my little house. And we reached a conclusion, seriously, about how to move and really win this election, 2023.
We agreed. Let’s set up a committee of 14 – seven, seven from both sides. The former vice president nominated the governor of Adamawa State as the chairman of his own team of seven. Wike recommended and appointed (Olusegun) Mimiko, the former Governor of Ondo as the leader of his own team. The seven, seven side – 14 – met here in Abuja, met in Port Harcourt and reached excellent conclusions. By the time they left, they met and were very excited with the conclusions.
“They followed the vice president because he travelled to the UK, because there was no time. They followed to give him the report. He was excited with the report. They agreed on the conclusions. But on coming back to Nigeria, I don’t know what happened.
“So, people were genuinely saying no, no, no, you are not serious about this because the main thing there was, look, since you’ve won the ticket, you’ve taken the ticket, you also have chosen your vice president, at least let me go back, that’s Wike, with the chairman of the party, so that our people would know that we are also part of this.
“And you know what happened. I was so shocked. So, he was reacting. A lot of those people were fighting; they just moved themselves out”.
Prof. Gana however insisted that by the time campaigns start and real issues confronting the people are raised and there are no answers from the APC, “Wike will not be able to even retain some of the people that are supporting him. They’ll say now look sir; the reality is, what the people are saying is true.
“And I want to assure you, because I know Wike; very, very principled…What I’m saying is, some of these things you are looking at will disappear when the reality dawns”.
The PDP chieftain expressed optimism that by 2027, the party would have been so transformed that even those who have left would either come back or remain silent if they do not want to.
“And you are talking about Peter Obi and others. We are hoping they will come back because Peter was with us in the PDP. Actually, we made a mistake in 2023. He was vice president to Atiku. If I were Atiku, I will say, ah, Peter, it’s now your turn. Come, I’ll give you a good vice president; but he didn’t do it.
“What I’m saying now is that our own platform will be so good, it will be so fascinating, will be so real that these people, they may not come over to us, but they will just keep quiet”.
He said beyond the ambition of the PDP to return to power in 2027, there were far more very deep and profound reasons of providing good governance to Nigerians, hence the party had raised a search team for a good presidential material from the south.
Gana said, “As I speak with you, the chairmen of the party in the19 plus Abuja, northern states, they’ve all come to me saying look sir, we agree entirely with what you’ve said. This is what it should be; it’s the turn of the south. Therefore, go search for excellent presidential candidate because Nigeria deserves the best. And so, we’re leading that search and we’re making very, very good progress, and I hope very much after the convention, we shall make announcements.
“And I’m telling you, those who have made the mistake of moving to the other side, they would move back because the move will be so clear, it will be so just, it will be so fair, it will be so absolutely wonderful and they would like to be part of this process that will return power to those who know how to govern excellently, because for 16 years, PDP governed. …All the institutions of government that are really being celebrated, were all created by the PDP within the years we ruled; solid!”
He said as the leader of the search team, “there are so many brilliant people down south”, stressing that “Peter (Obi) may be good, but there’s somebody better. Potentially, so, we’re searching, and all of them are very, very good candidates.
“Our people are very, very interested in this and they’re reaching out; they are very excited with Peter, no doubt, but they’re also excited with other people. And we are reaching those people. And those people haven’t given us the final word yet, so I cannot, definitely say it, but they’re excited”.
On whether the opposition would not be repeating the error of 2023 when Obi and Atiku ran on different platforms thereby dividing the votes should the former get the PDP ticket and the latter, ADC’s, thus handing Tinubu easy another victory, the professor of Geography contended that it would be something else because the parties have changed.
“The PDP is on the ground. Peter Obi will not be in Labour; he will now be in the PDP”.
Dismissing the notion that Atiku might be inheriting late President Buhari’s 12 million block votes in the north, Gana said, “I’m a researcher, and I research opinions, and believe you me, in the northern states, Peter Obi, under the PDP, will defeat any candidate because our people are very fair-minded.
“They say it’s the turn of the South. In 2031, it will be the turn of the north, and they are getting ready. So, there is that very powerful process. Our people are very fair-minded; they are very just. We are building a nation. We don’t want people to ruin this opportunity because the move we made in1999 resolved the June 12 thing.
“It was very, very vicious; and when we came in, we said this is not right. When we made that move, Obasanjo’s been president. Tinubu now who was in the trenches then, he’s now president. We now have the Nigerian nation back, and people said, now, it has worked. The founding fathers were wise, so, therefore, if it is the turn of the South, please give it to the south.
“I don’t know when last you were in Adamawa. Atiku comes from Adamawa. There’s a PDP government in place in Adamawa, and it’s really in place; it’s governing. It’s popular, it’s powerful. How many people there will go with him? We have three governors in the whole of the Northeast where he comes from – in Bauchi, in Taraba, in Adamawa, and with the kind of moves that are going on, we are very strong again in Borno, and Yobe and Gombe.
“In southern parts, we have governors there. What I am now saying is even in the zone where he comes from, there would be very, very serious contentions.
“We are not saying that he’s not strong, but Peter (Obi) will be far, far stronger. And we have a better candidate even than Peter”.