Nigeria's Ruling Party Splinters

A division between the two largest factions of Nigeria's ruling People's Democratic Party has grown as it debates whether current Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan should seek re-election in 2015. A group of the party's senior figures, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, walked out of the party's mini-congress over the weekend and spent the next few days garnering support among other party members who oppose Jonathan's potential re-election bid. This group is now calling itself the New People's Democratic Party.

Though such divisions have happened before, the most recent rift is the result of a 15-year-old power-sharing agreement among Nigeria's regions that is being strained ahead of the national elections. Jonathan did not take office as a result of the power-sharing agreement; he became president after the death of President Umaru Yaradua (a northerner) in 2010, which means that Jonathan, a southerner, took northern Nigeria's "turn." The New People's Democratic Party is pushing for Jonathan to step down in 2015 to comply with the agreement and return the presidency to the north. The New People's Democratic Party is not likely to break away and create a new political party, but it will remain opposed to Jonathan as its members position themselves as candidates for the People's Democratic Party leadership.