Politics
Nigeria: Split in the People’s Democratic Party threatens President Jonathan re-election hopes
Nigeria President.,Goodluck Jonathan. PHOTO/File
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan’s re-election hopes have suffered a major dent after his ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) split into two following disagreements over his candidacy in the 2015 elections.
The split followed the formation of a new party – the Voice of the People (VOP) – by seven governors from northern states who are challenging Jonathan’s bid for a second term.
The Voice of the People’s registration is currently being reviewed by the country’s Independent National Electoral Commission.
According to reports, the majority northern governors decided to form the breakaway party after a series of meetings with prominent politicians, including former heads of state. Governors from Nigeria’s north and western states are very influential because the regions play host to 40 percent of the country’s voters.
The split presents the opposition All Progressives Congress, which has been gaining ground, many advantages against Jonathan’s ruling People’s Democratic Party.
Some analysts say the Voice of the People’s mission “is to stop President Jonathan in his 2015 ambition.”
If the independent national electoral commission registers the VOP, it would make it the fourth political party to be formed in Nigeria in one month.
Others are the All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) and Independent Democrats (ID).
Jonathan’s first term in office was initially marred by the poor security situation in the north east due to disturbances by the al-Qaeda-linked Boko Haram Islamist group.
This led to some senior officials within his party to challenging his eligibility to stand for another term, arguing his eligibility would have to be determined by the Supreme Court.
His critics say Jonathan, who was Vice President before succeeding the late Umaru Yar’Adua in 2010, had broken his party’s north-south rotation of the presidency.
Jonathan, a southerner, won a presidential election in April the following year.
Yar’Adua, who was from the north, died only a year away from the end of his first term in office.
PDP leaders from Adamawa State say if Jonathan contests “for another term of four years in 2015, he would have self-succeeded himself in office as president for a cumulative period of nine years 23 days”.
Source: The Africa Report