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'Obasanjo wants longer tenure'
16/02/2007 17:30 - (SA)
Lagos - One of Nigeria's most prominent opposition parties, Action Congress (AC), has accused President Olusegun Obasanjo of seeking to prolong his term in office.
The row is about an attempt by Nigeria's electoral agency the Independent National Electoral Commission (Inec) to bar some candidates indicted on corruption charges.
The candidates include AC's presidential contender, the current vice-president Atiku Abubakar, from running in the April elections.
AC said in a statement on Thursday night that if Inec goes ahead with its plan "it would not just be disqualifying Abubakar but voting for tenure elongation".
AC accused Inec of "surreptitiously submitting itself to be used by the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP)" to bar Atiku, said the statement, signed by AC publicity secretary Lai Mohammed.
Obasanjo, whose second four-year term ends after the April 21 election, is constitutionally barred from standing again.
Parliament last year aborted his challenge to change the constitution and allow a third term.
Obasanjo's relations with Atiku have soured in the past several months, with the two men publicly trading corruption accusations.
The president has vowed that his deputy will not succeed him in office.
- AFP
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