NIGERIAN VICE PRESIDENT ASSUMES AS ACTING PRESIDENT

Jakarta Forum - Lagos, Nigerian Vice President Goodluck Jonathan said late on Tuesday that he had assumed as the acting president of the country.

Jonathan moved quickly to stamp his authority after assuming presidential powers, with a wide-ranging broadcast to the nation in which he pledged to prioritise peace in the oil-producing Niger Delta, punish those behind religious unrest and work towards credible national elections next year.

"It is now time for us to move on in a more determined manner to tackle the various challenges which we face as a nation," he said in the address late on Tuesday.

But his route to assuming power as acting head of state has no precedent in Nigeria and is not explicitly backed by the constitution, leaving him open to legal challenges from opponents and potentially weakening his ability to lead.

Political power brokers will likely exploit the uncertainty as they battle over who the ruling People`s Democratic Party nominee should be in presidential elections due in April 2011.

President Umaru Yar`Adua`s ill-health means he is highly unlikely to seek a second term, while Jonathan is also unlikely to run because he is a southerner and an unwritten pact on power sharing in the PDP dictates the next four-year term should go to a northerner.

Ministers, powerful state governors and parliamentarians are likely to quickly fall in line with whoever emerges as the front runner, further weakening Jonathan`s ability to drive policy.

The constitution says the president must make a written declaration to parliament saying he is on vacation or otherwise unable to carry out his duties before the vice president can take over executive powers.

Yar`Adua has written no such letter.

Parliament said earlier it recognised Jonathan as acting head of state and commander-in-chief of the armed forces, a move which Senate President David Mark said was based on the ailing leader`s interview with the BBC from his sickbed.

Source: Antara News