Nigeria: New Vice-President Candidate is from the north and Muslim

By on May 14, 2010
Nigeria’s new president has chosen his candidate for vice president from the country’s largely Muslim north. He tapped Kaduna State governor Namadi Sambo for the job after meeting Wednesday with Nigeria’s governors.

The nomination of Mr. Sambo is expected to be forwarded to the Nigerian parliament for approval. The choice of a northern Muslim will bring back a religious and regional balance to the top office.
The ruling People’s Democratic Party traditionally rotates the presidency between the mainly Christian south and the mainly Muslim north. Questions remain over who will run as the PDP candidate in the next election, expected before April 2011. If the new president, Mr. Jonathan who is a southern Christian, would run, then the election bid could stir controversy. Because Mr. Yar’Adua, a northerner and a Muslim, died only two-and-a-half years into what was expected to be a two-term, eight-year presidency. And that’s why the next presidential candidate should be another northerner. Some ruling party officials have said.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.