Nigerian Presidential Race Gets Crowded
VOA News
15 September 2010
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has used the social networking site Facebook to publicly announce his candidacy in the upcoming presidential election.
In his Internet post Wednesday, Mr. Jonathan pledged to Nigerians to "always do right by you." He said he will tell the truth "at all times" and promised, in his words, "most importantly, to listen to you."
Just a few hours later, former military ruler Ibrahim Babangida officially declared his own candidacy at a rally in Abuja.
Both seek the nomination of the ruling People's Democratic Party, which is divided over whether their party should run a Muslim, like Mr. Babangida, or a Christian, like Mr. Jonathan.
The party has a custom of rotating the presidency between Nigeria's mainly Muslim north and mainly Christian south every two terms.
Mr. Jonathan took office in May after the death of President Umaru Yar'Adua, a Muslim. Mr. Yar'Adua died about three years into what was expected to be an eight-year presidency.
President Jonathan said he made his decision to run in the election after consultations with top Nigerian leaders.
Within hours, more than 2,000 people had commented on the president's statement on Facebook. Nearly 1,700 people also clicked the "Like" button on the social media site to show their approval.
Mr. Jonathan had told leaders in the People's Democratic Party last week in a closed-door meeting he would seek the party's presidential nomination.
Former vice president Atiku Abubakar, also a Muslim, has said he too will seek the nomination.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.
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