[size=14pt]Former Nigerian VP Abubakar announces election bid[/size]
Sun Aug 15, 2010 5:17pm GMT
* Declaration poses challenge to President Jonathan
* Increases risk of split in ruling party

By Camillus Eboh and Felix Onuah

ABUJA, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Former Nigerian vice president Atiku Abubakar on Sunday formally declared his intention to run in elections due next January, posing a challenge to President Goodluck Jonathan for the ruling party ticket.

Abubakar, a Muslim from the northern Hausa ethnic group, ran unsuccessfully for president as the opposition Action Congress candidate in 2007, polls which were won by fellow northerner, late President Umaru Yar'Adua.

An unwritten agreement in the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) states that power should rotate between the Muslim north and Christian south every two terms, meaning the next president should be a northerner if the principle is maintained.

Jonathan, a Christian from the southern Niger Delta, has not yet said whether or not he plans to stand, but a bid would be controversial and he would need the support of northerners within the PDP to be guaranteed victory in the polls.

Abubakar's declaration does not help his chances and increases the risk of division within the ruling party.

"This is not the time for a novice. This is not the time for ill-prepared leaders. This is not the time for risky experiments," Abubakar said as he announced his bid, an apparent reference to concerns about ending the PDP "zoning agreement".
"It is time for an experienced, committed and visionary leader to rescue our country from imminent collapse. I am that leader," he said.

Although Jonathan's administration has made a raft of policy announcements in recent weeks which analysts say look more like campaign pledges, sources close to Jonathan say he is concerned about the implications of abandoning zoning.

The PDP has hedged its bets on whether it would fully endorse a Jonathan bid in primaries expected in September.

The party said last week that Jonathan had the right to contest because he had come to power with northern President Yar'Adua in 2007 on a joint ticket and that he could legitimately seek to complete that term.

But it stopped short of giving him its full endorsement and said it upheld the principle of zoning. (For more Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: af.reuters.com/ ) (Writing by Nick Tattersall; editing by Ralph Boulton)

http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFLDE67E0BC20100815?sp=true

"This is not the time for a novice. This is not the time for ill-prepared leaders. This is not the time for risky experiments," Abubakar said as he announced his bid, an apparent reference to concerns about ending the PDP "zoning agreement".

. . .And this is not the time for mega thieves.

This guy just think its a birth right

This is a line from Atiku's speech.

"I have no illusions about the toughness of the challenges ahead, but with the support of our people we can overcome them," he said.

I really want to know what Atiku meant by this line?

Who are his people and who are'nt? I thought we were all ONE Nigerians.?

This is surely not the President we need.

nigeria is about to get its first bisexual president lol.
this development has a global significance to the gay rights movement, nairaland gay.gots take note hahahaha

ziddy:

nigeria is about to get its first bisexual president lol.
this development has a global significance to the gay rights movement, nairaland gay.gots take note hahahaha

Is Atiku gay / bi?