[3][4] He was Pro-Chancellor of the University of Lagos until 2017[5] He was elected Senator in 1983, serving briefly until the military coup that brought General Muhammadu Buhari to power.

He was appointed chairman of Mass Mobilisation for Social and Economic Recovery under General Ibrahim Babangida's government.

[3] In June 2001, President Olusegun Obasanjo appointed Gana Minister of Co-operation and Integration in Africa.

[10] Gana resigned in July 2006 as special advisor to President Olusegun Obasanjo, and in August 2006 announced he would contend for the PDP candidature for the 2007 presidential elections.

[7] In 2018 Gana announced he would be running as a Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate for president in the 2019 Elections.