The seven-day mourning period declared by the Nigerian government to mourn late President Umaru Yar’Adua was due to end Wednesday (12Ma), pushing to a crescendo the clamour for the appointment of a Vice President by new President Goodluck Jonathan.
President Jonathan ordered the seven-day mourning following Yar’Adua’s death last Wednesday after a protracted illness.
Flags in public places were lowered to half staff during the period to reflect the national mood.
Though the appointment of a Vice President is seen as the first major assignment for the President, indications are that he deferred the appointment till the end of the mourning period.
The Vice President is widely expected to come from the North, under Nigeria’s delicate balancing act between the largely Muslim North and the mostlty Christian South.
Jonathan, a Christian from the South, served as VP to Yar’Adua, a Northern Muslim.
On Wednesday, the local press continued with speculations over who will be appointed to fill the VP slot.
According to reports, those shortlisted include the former Governor of northern Kaduna state, Ahmed Makarfi, who incidentally is being backed by Senators from the North.
Others are Governor Danjuma Goje of northern Gombe state; Muktar Shagari, Deputy Governor of northern Sokoto state; Sule Lamido, Governor of northern Jigawa; Aliyu Babangida, Governor of northern Niger state; Buba Marwa, Nigeria’s Ambassador
to South Africa and Yayale Ahmed, Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
A newspaper report Wednesday that the candidates have been shortlisted to three – Shagari, Makarfi and Goje – could not be independently confirmed.