Only Northern Candidate Can Win 2019 Presidential Election — Jerry Gana

Former Nigerian minister of information and the presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) Jerry Gana said the only strategic move for any party to win the forthcoming 2019 presidential election is to present a northern candidate.

“Any party that really wants to win at the presidential level strategically, the candidate would come from the Northern State otherwise you will lose in terms of spread even if you have the volume,” Gana said on Channels TV’s RoadMap2019.

Gana revealed this while defending his candidacy as the SDP presidential candidate.

The former minister was recently declared by a high court in Abuja as the winner of the party’s presidential primary election conducted on October 6.

The court declared Donald Duke’s 812 votes to defeat Gana’s 612 votes null and void and ordered SDP to forward Gana’s name to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the party’s flag bearer for the 2019 presidential election.

Gana, however, stated that the majority of the party members supported the court’s declaration except for SDP national chairman, Chief Olu Falae, and the national secretary, Alhaji Shehu Gabam.

Gana, a former People’s Democratic Party chief, affirmed that the logic the party failed to understand was that he is a stronger opposition against the two major contenders the ruling All Progressives Congress candidate Muhammadu Buhari and the PDP’s presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar.

“APC and PDP candidate are from there, we intend to provide ourselves as a credible alternative to these two,” Gana said.

He maintained that as a northerner, emerging as the party’s presidential candidate puts the party in a strong position to win the forthcoming election.

Gana, therefore, affirmed that the court’s judgement should be upheld because any other decision is contrary to the party’s constitution.