VP Goodluck Jonathan under pressure to resign

Story by Punch Newspapers

There were strong indications on Friday that the Vice President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, may be under intense pressure from some of the country‘s power brokers to resign.Those behind the move, sources say, want to ensure that the delicate power sharing arrangement between the North and the South, which some military chiefs and politicians agreed upon in 1998, is preserved. Under the zoning arrangement agreed upon by the politicians of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, power is expected to rotate between the two regions at the end of two presidential terms.

Saturday Punch investigations on Friday revealed that the pressure, which started when the President made his first medical trip abroad in 2007, increased this week after the President departed for Saudi Arabia for another round of treatment.

The plan of those pressurising the VP, Saturday Punch learnt, is to create a situation where he would resign for the Senate President, David Mark, to take over for three months and then organise elections, in the event that the President is unable to complete his term.

However, at about the time that Saturday Punch completed its investigations on Friday, the Presidency issued a statement saying that Nigeria‘s president will not resign despite currently undergoing treatment in Saudi Arabia.
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