Abuja \u2013 A source close to Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan said on<\/p>\n
Thursday the leader of Africa\u2019s most populous country has decided to run
\nfor re-election in February.<\/p>\n
Jonathan met with top officials from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party
\n(PDP) and thanked them for their unanimous endorsement as the party\u2019s
\npresidential candidate, the source said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe president told them he has accepted the offer and assured them that
\nhe would pick the nomination form before the deadline expired next week,\u201d
\nsaid the source.<\/p>\n
Jonathan\u2019s formal re-election announcement will be made at a public event
\nbetween November 7 and November 15, according to the presidential aide.
\nThe news was widely expected, especially after PDP state governors gave
\nJonathan their backing in September.<\/p>\n
Jonathan is a Christian from the southern oil-producing Niger Delta
\nregion, and had faced calls to stand down in favour of a northern Muslim.
\nThe PDP has an unwritten rule that calls for rotational power aimed at
\nappeasing voters across the religiously divided country.<\/p>\n
But Jonathan, 56, outmanoeuvred his rivals, publicly winning the backing
\nof the northern PDP stalwarts thought to have opposed his nomination.
\nHis job performance has been widely criticised, especially over his
\nhandling of the brutal Boko Haram uprising.<\/p>\n
Analysts also say he has not done nearly enough to curb galloping
\ncorruption, including in Nigeria\u2019s oil sector, which is the largest in
\nAfrica.<\/p>\n
Jonathan will face an emboldened opposition under the banner of a new
\nparty, the All Progressives Congress, a coalition which groups all of
\nNigeria\u2019s leading opposition groups.<\/p>\n
But experts say the president\u2019s strongest asset on election day could be
\nhis status as the incumbent in a country where the ruling party has a
\ntrack record of using vast public resources for political aims.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Abuja \u2013 A source close to Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan said on Thursday the leader of Africa\u2019s most populous country has decided to run for re-election in February. Jonathan met…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30148,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n