Nigeria’s 2011 Poll: Jonathan ends months of speculation

Abuja, 15 Sept-(ANA)-Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan has ended months of speculation and confirmed he will contest  elections in January..

The announcement, on his Facebook site, said the decision had been taken "after wide and thorough consultations".

Jonathan, a southerner, became president in February after the death of his boss Umaru Yar'Adua.  He is the first president from Nigeria's southern, oil-producing Delta region.  Reuters news agency reports that the announcement came as one of his main rivals for the governing People's Democratic Party (PDP) nomination, former military leader Gen Ibrahim Babangida, launched his campaign in the capital Abuja. Under an unwritten rule, the PDP candidate in 2011 should be from the largely Muslim north, rather than the mainly Christian and animist south, which would favour Gen Babangida or former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar rather than Jonathan. (ANA)

FA/ANA/15 September 2010---------