Nigeria: Namadi Sambo veep post faces opposition

Governor of Kaduna State and Vice-President-designate Namadi Sambo is facing opposition as there's a campaign led by some senators in the National Assembly not to confirm him.
But governors are moving to nip the growing discontent in the bud.
THISDAY gathered that the state chief executives are mobilising to meet their senators when they arrive in Abuja this week.
Each governor is expected to meet the senators representing his state and impress it upon them to allow Sambo a smooth sail during the confirmation process.

President Goodluck Jonathan had last week picked the Kaduna governor as vice-president-designate.
His choice came after meetings with governors who lobbied hard for one of them to be chosen for the post.
The horse-trading that followed saw 23 of them withdrawing their support for former Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Prince Vincent Ogbulafor, who was asked to resign because of allegations of corruption against him.
Consequently, Sambo's name was sent to the National Assembly for confirmation last Saturday.

But the groundswell of opposition is growing essentially among the Northern Senators Forum who spearheaded a campaign that one of them, Senator Ahmed Makarfi and Sambo’s predecessor, be picked as VP.
The campaign against Sambo is coming on the heels of rising discontent in Kaduna State over the fact that the Deputy Governor Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa, a Christian from the Southern part of the state, would automatically replace him.
The state government has beefed up security to prevent a religious crisis and breakdown of law and other.

Riot policemen were deployed by the government while Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) were stationed at strategic locations.
Reports quoted the Police Public Relations Officer in Kaduna DSP Aminu Lawan as saying that the force had placed its officers at alert.
Text messages are said to have been sent out to whip up sentiments and insinuate that Christians have taken over the state.
One of the text messages reportedly claimed that the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has “won”.
Kaduna has been a hotbed of conflict between Christians and Muslims in the past. However, there has been relative peace for sometime.

Source: Thisday