Nigerian president starts campaign

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has used the power of incumbency to gather the support of more than two thirds of powerful state governors for the launch of his re-election campaign.

On Saturday, thousands of supporters flocked to Abuja’s Eagle Square to hear Jonathan declare his candidacy for the January election, which will be the most fiercely contested since the end of military rule, Reuters reported.

“This is more than a crowd, it is almost like a revolution,” Jonathan said as he addressed his supporters.

“Nigerian politics has a Byzantine quality that makes it hard entirely to be sure it’s over until it’s over,” said Antony Goldman, a Nigeria expert and the head of London-based PM Consulting.

Jonathan inherited the presidency when President Umaru Yar’Adua, a northerner, died this year during his first term, but some powerbrokers in the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) have said the next leader must be a northerner.

But the candidacy of Jonathan, who is from the oil-producing Niger Delta in the south, faces resistance from some parts of the north as it breaks an unwritten agreement that power should rotate between the country’s main regions every two terms.

However, analysts believe Jonathan would only announce his candidacy if he was sure of enough support from the ruling PDP. Saturday’s rally seemed to demonstrate he had built up that confidence over recent weeks.

Isa Yuguda, the governor of the northeastern state of Bauchi and one of twenty-six of the country’s 36 governors once seen as potential presidential contenders, told the rally, “The northeast zone will rally round you and we assure you that we will deliver you the highest number of votes come 2011.”

Jonathan also faces other northern challengers within the PDP, including former military ruler Ibrahim Babangida and former vice president Atiku Abubakar.

Kwara state governor Bukola Saraki and national security adviser Aliyu Gusau could also win the backing of northerners.