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ABUJA. — Nigeria’s president Goodluck Jonathan faces an uncertain political future after attracting a torrent of criticism over his handling of the mass abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls by Boko Haram extremists. President Jonathan was already on the back foot even before Boko Haram kidnapped 276 girls from the remote north-eastern town of Chibok in April, sparking a global social media campaign and international outrage.
His People’s Democratic Party has been hit by mass defections, eroding his power base and parliamentary majority and strengthening the hand of the main opposition All Progressives Congress.
The 56-year-old Jonathan was still expected to declare his candidacy for next year’s elections and seek a second term in office, but with anger growing over the government’s lack of response in the first weeks after the kidnapping, some commentators say his political stock has been irreparably damaged.
Dapo Thomas, a political commentator from Lagos State University, called for Jonathan to step down.
“In a sane society, Jonathan should have resigned or (been) impeached,” he told AFP. “In South Korea, the prime minister had to resign because of a ferry accident that claimed hundreds of lives.”
Nigeria is almost equally split between a Muslim majority north and predominantly Christian south, with an unwritten rule that presidential candidates rotate between the two regions. — AFP.
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