Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan today announced he will retain Vice President Namadi Sambo as his running mate for the February 2015 presidential election in the West African country. Jonathan named his running mate after accepting his endorsement as sole presidential candidate of the Nigerian ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP), at a special national convention of the party which kicked off late Wednesday at the Eagles Square in the capital city Abuja.
Earlier, there were speculations in the country, fueled by crisis in the ruling party, that the Nigerian leader might opt for a different running mate. Sambo had assumed office as vice president in 2010 and was later named Jonathan’s running mate for the 2011 presidential election. The Nigerian leader said, if re-elected, he will, together with his running mate, fight and win the war against corruption and myriads of problems for which his administration had been severely criticized.
Jonathan was first endorsed late October by senior party officials who, considering his transformation agenda for the African nation, urged him to step forward for re-election. Political analysts said the Nigerian president, having emerged as the ruling party’s candidate, will have to prepare for a robust contest with presidential candidate of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC), which is expected to emerge later tonight.
Nigeria’s electoral body, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has fixed Feb. 14, 2015 for the presidential election in Africa’s most populous country.
