The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said former President Goodluck Jonathan is still a member of the party.
The national publicity secretary of PDP, Hon Debo Ologunagba, stated this on Monday during a press briefing on the party’s preparation for the November national convention.
He was reacting to a claim by former minister of information and PDP leader, Prof Jerry Gana, that Jonathan will contest and win the 2027 presidential election on PDP’s platform.
Jonathan, who is being courted by the PDP, has rarely attended PDP events since 2016 when the party slumped into a post 2015 election crisis.
When asked about Gana’s claim, Ologunagba said, “I don’t speak for Professor Jerry Gana. People can express their opinion. But I will emphasize this; in this party, as we are today, President Jonathan is a member, he has not said he’s not a member.”
Ologunagba however said the party has eminently qualified Nigerians, particularly at the governors level, who have done well and can get the support of Nigerians to replicate the same in the country.
“I invite you to have a peer review mechanism between PDP states and the APC states. This is the conversation we should be having for the Nigerian people to look at PDP and see the array of qualified people that are there.
“So, I don’t speak for President Jonathan. I don’t speak for Jerry Gana, with all due respect. But our party is focused on our convention and when we get to that bridge, we’ll cross it. Those should be semantics,” he said.
The PDP spokesman also dispelled claims of a rift within party over congresses held in Cross Rivers State
He was reacting to contradicting letters by the PDP national chairman, Illiya Damagum and national secretary, Samuel Anyanwu, to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the holding of congresses.
Ologunagba said, “Let me tell you this clearly. There is no crisis here. I can tell you boldly the NWC is united on this. And we all agree that it should be postponed for reasons I’ve stated before.
“If there are letters, like you said, the body that controls this party in terms of management is the National Working Committee. Neither of the officers , it is the body. And the body sat and decided overwhelmingly, the majority voted for that because of the reasons I’ve mentioned earlier.
“So if there are letters that you’re talking about exist, that letter cannot be above the decision communicated by the NWC.
“So I’m not going to give you too much pressure going to that because the important message is that no Congress took place there. Like I said, it’s a hallucination. I mean, if you go to a carnival and you get into the mood of carnival, what do you do?You hallucinate when you’re sleeping,” he said.
…No Automatic Ticket For Him In PDP, Gbenga-Hashim Group Replies Gana
The Gbenga Hashim Solidarity Movement (GHSM) has declared that former President Goodluck Jonathan will not enjoy a “free ride” to the presidential ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2027.
The group stressed that PDP delegates at the national convention will pick the party’s flagbearer not a few party stalwarts.
Reacting to remarks credited to Professor Jerry Gana suggesting Jonathan’s possible comeback on the PDP platform, the GHSM national coordinator, Abdulrazaq Hamzat, stressed that the PDP flagbearer would only emerge through an open and transparent process in line with the Electoral Act 2022.
“With due respect, Professor Jerry Gana is entitled to his enthusiasm about the return of former President Jonathan. However, only PDP delegates to the national convention can pick the party’s flagbearer, and ultimately, God Almighty will determine the outcome, not a few party stalwarts,” Hamzat said in a statement.
Hamzat argued that Nigerians are yearning for progress, not a return to the past, warning that Jonathan represents an “old order” many citizens are ready to consign to history.
“The Jonathan era cannot be painted as a perfect time. It was a period when the diversity of our nation began to be deeply mismanaged, rekindling ethnic tensions and religious bigotry, a legacy that has unfortunately worsened under subsequent governments,” he added.
He also revisited Jonathan’s foreign policy record, faulting Nigeria’s decision in 2011 to break ranks with the African Union and support NATO’s intervention in Libya. He described the move as a “strategic blunder” that destabilized the Sahel and aggravated insecurity across Nigeria, Mali, Chad, Niger, Burkina Faso, and other West African countries.
On domestic governance, the GHSM leader insisted that Jonathan still has questions to answer on corruption allegations that trailed his administration, particularly the infamous Dasukigate arms procurement scandal.
Hamzat, however, affirmed that the PDP remains a democratic platform where no aspirant, including former presidents, should expect automatic endorsement.
“If President Jonathan desires a return to Aso Rock, he must be ready to square up with nationally unifying aspirants such as Dr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim in an open and transparent primary,” Hamzat declared.
He maintained that Nigerians deserve fresh leadership and a new vision to tackle the nation’s challenges, insisting that “the only way forward is forward, not backward.”
