Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan formally began his re-election
bid on Thursday, thanking God, his supporters and the state governors
who helped raise the $130,000 nomination fee. Jonathan appeared at
a brief
ceremony at the headquarters of his Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP), where he collected a nomination form for the PDP presidential
ticket.
He has so far no opponents in the party’s primaries and is
therefore virtually guaranteed to be on the ballot for the February
polls.
“First, let me thank God for today,” the 56-year-old leader of Africa’s most populous country and top oil producer said.
“Let
me thank the leadership of our great party and all members of our party
for believing in me,” he said, noting how they raised the funds for his
nomination.
Little is known about Jonathan’s personal wealth,
although his office demanded a retraction from a website earlier this
month that put his net worth at $100 million.
There have been
numerous reports that a key contender to challenge Jonathan, ex-military
ruler Muhammadu Buhari, also needed help to raise the hefty nomination
fee for his All Progressives Congress party.
Jonathan’s staggered
re-election announcement — without any direct declaration from his own
lips — has been described as drawn-out by some commentators.
It
began with news from his office on October 23 that he had decided to
run, followed by a statement announcing his plans to collect the
nomination form.
A list of his re-election team with more than 200 names was then printed in leading newspapers.
The
re-election announcement process is expected to culminate with a public
event on November 11, organised by the Presidential Declaration
Committee headed by former defence minister Bello Haliru Mohammed.
Source:PM News
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