Nigeria Gets New Vice President

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has nominated Kaduna state governor Namadi Sambo to be vice president of Africa's most populous nation, a presidency source said on Thursday.

Jonathan, who was sworn in last week after the death of President Umaru Yar'Adua, surprised many by choosing a relative newcomer to national politics to be his deputy.

"It is true. Sambo has been chosen by the president to be the vice president," the source said.

A spokesman for the 58-year-old governor declined to comment.

Analysts said it was too early to know whether Sambo, a northerner who was elected governor in 2007, would now be considered a contender for presidential elections to be held by next April.

"Sambo has not been in politics for a long time so he is not your characteristic Nigerian politician," said Mansur Ahmed, senior member of the think-tank Nigerian Economic Summit Group.

"It is difficult to say who the PDP will choose. The decision on who will be their presidential candidate depends on many factors," he added.

Under the power-sharing agreement within the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP), the presidency should rotate every two terms between the Muslim north and Christian south to avoid an imbalance of power.

Yar'Adua, a northerner, died during his first term and many expected Jonathan to appoint a powerful northern vice president after he took over as head of state who would then go on to be the ruling party nominee in the next presidential race.

"The selection of vice president is not simply a question of who is best equipped for the job, but who will not upset the most number of factions," said Antony Goldman, head of London-based PM Consulting.

Jonathan himself has not ruled out running for president although he said in April he wanted at least three months to see how reforms enacted so far took hold.

An aide to Jonathan said on Wednesday there was general consensus in support of his seeking re-election and that he would likely do so with the PDP.

Cairo Ojuogboh, Jonathan's assistant on National Assembly matters, said he personally believed Jonathan would stand in presidential polls next year.

But Jonathan's spokesman, Ima Niboro, said Ojuogboh was in no position to make any declaration on the president's plans.

A bid by Jonathan could be controversial because he is from the south of the country and would be seen as upsetting the balance of power.

Source: http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5568078-146/jonathan_picks_namadi_sambo_as_vp.csp

Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua dies | Yar'Adua Is Dead | Alh. Umaru Musa Yar'Adua Is Dead | Is Yar'Adua Dead

ABUJA (Reuters) – Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua has died at age 58 after a long illness, presidential aides said.

State television said on Thursday that acting President Goodluck Jonathan had been informed of Yar'Adua's death and the government would make a statement shortly.

Yar'Adua had been absent from the political scene in Africa's most populous nation since November, when he left for medical treatment for a heart condition in Saudi Arabia. He returned to Nigeria in February but remained too sick to govern.

Acting President Jonathan assumed executive powers in February and has since appointed a new cabinet and his own team of advisers.

Under the terms of the constitution, Jonathan will be sworn in as head of state and will then appoint a new vice president. The pair will complete the unexpired presidential term until elections due by April 2011.

It is unclear if Jonathan, who is from the southern Niger Delta, will run for president in the polls because of an unwritten agreement in theruling party that power rotates between north and south. The next four-year term is due to go to Yar'Adua's predominantly Muslim north.

Jonathan's choice of vice president will be key. Should he decide not to run, his deputy -- likely to be a northerner -- is seen as a likely presidential candidate for the ruling party.

MIXED LEGACY

Sworn in pledging respect for the rule of law, Yar'Adua was initially seen by many Nigerians as a breath of fresh air after eight years of former president Olusegun Obasanjo, an overbearing ex-military ruler with a penchant for disregarding court orders and legal detail.

He was Nigeria's first university-educated leader and won victory in April 2007 polls which, though marred by intimidation and ballot-stuffing, marked the first transfer of power from one civilian president to another since independence in 1960.

But the optimism quickly faded.

Yar'Adua earned the nickname "Baba Go-Slow," a reference to the local term for Nigeria's crippling traffic jams, for what critics said was slow progress on everything from economic reforms to restoring the shambolic energy sector.

His biggest achievement was in the restive Niger Delta, the heartland of Africa's biggest oil and gas industry.

Militant attacks rumbled on during the early part of his tenure, but his offer of amnesty last year led thousands of gunmen to lay down their weapons and brought more than six months of relative peace in the region.

Source: Yahoo News.