ICYMI: We’ll brief Nigerians as events unfold, says Jerry Gana as Wike meets PDP stakeholders

Jerry Gana, a member of the board of trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), says Nigerians will be briefed about the party’s affairs as “developments unfold”.

Gana, a former minister of information, said this on Sunday after a meeting of the Wike presidential campaign council at the Rivers governor’s lodge in Abuja.

Wike had contested the PDP presidential ticket and lost to Atiku Abubakar, former vice-president.

The Rivers governor was also said to be the choice candidate of the PDP national working committee (NWC) as vice-presidential candidate, but Abubakar had chosen Ifeanyi Okowa, governor of Delta, as his running mate.

The development has led to some friction between Wike and Abubakar.

Speaking at a media briefing after the meeting, which held behind closed doors, Gana said the group remains united.

“We have met together for the first time after the primaries of the PDP. We have frankly reviewed matters among ourselves,” Gana said.

“We want to confirm that we are solidly together as a group and we also want to let the nation know that we shall keep our people briefed as developments unfold.”

Aside from Wike and Gana, also present at the meeting were Seyi Makinde and Samuel Ortom, governors of Oyo and Benue, respectively; as well as Donald Duke, Gabriel Suswam, Olusegun Mimiko, Seriake Dickson, and Jonah Jang — former governors of Cross River, Benue, Ondo, Bayelsa, and Plateau states, respectively.

The meeting comes after Wike accused the PDP presidential candidate of lying in a recent interview.

In the interview, Atiku had said he did not pick Wike as his running mate because he wanted someone he could work with “amicably”.

“Governor Wike was not rejected. Nobody was rejected in the party. But you must understand that it’s the prerogative of the candidate to pick his running mate — a running mate he believes he can work with amicably, and then also deliver the policies of the party, and also try to unify the country,” the PDP candidate said.

However, the Rivers governor had countered Abubakar, saying “so many lies were told”.