Nigeria: Jonathan Chooses His Vice President

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan on May 13 nominated Kaduna state Governor Namadi Sambo to be the country's new vice president following the death of former President Umaru Yaradua. By picking Sambo, a relatively unknown politician from northern Nigeria, Jonathan has declined handing the office to the kind of powerful politician that would clearly indicate he is not interested in pursuing his own term as president in the planned 2011 elections. An unwritten agreement between Nigeria's northern and southern regions requires the presidency to rotate between regions every eight years, and while Jonathan has given no public statement to indicate he will upset this balance, picking a vice president with few influential backers may mean he is considering a run in 2011.