Vice president Sambo's camp anxious their man may be dropped as Goodluck declares

PEOPLES Democratic Party (PDP) insiders have indicated that vice president Namadi Sambo's camp is anxious that President Goodluck Jonathan might drop him as a running mate ahead of next year's presidential elections.

Earlier today, President Jonathan officially declared that he will be a candidate in February's elections, with a big rally at the Eagle Square in Abuja. However, the declaration has caused some anxiety in the vice president's camp amid fears over whether the president would retain him as his running mate or not.

There have been media reports that President Jonathan has been under pressure to drop Vice President Sambo as his running mate in the elections. Those who were applying the pressure believe that although the vice president is loyal to the president, he lacks the required electoral value to deliver his northwest geo-political zone to the PDP.

Other political figures such as Governor Ibrahim Shema of Katsina State and Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa State, have been mentioned as possible replacements. Lately, the name of the PDP's national chairman Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, has also cropped up.

One presidency source said: “The fear is real as the pressure on the president is very intense. One of the governors mentioned is not hiding his ambition but what we are not sure of is whether the president will succumb to the pressure."

He added that some party chiefs were expecting the president to use his declaration to make his position on the matter known in order to douse the tension. For now, however, President Jonathan has kept mum on the issue and is unlikely to mention it until the PDP's national convention taking place on December 6.

“Running mates are not named at declaration rallies as that will be tantamount to a tactical error. The idea is that running mates are named in acceptance speeches at the national convention and anything done earlier than that will open the candidate up for attack from those not happy with his choice,” the party source added.