pix :The Nation

Vice President Namadi Sambo has assured Northerners that they have nothing to fear about President Goodluck Jonathan joining the presidential race .He said he is a northerner who is firmly entrenched in power and that there is nothing the North needs that he cannot get for the zone under a Jonathan presidency where seems certain to remain as  the Vice President.Sambo spoke in reaction to the growing agitation  from the North that Jonathan should not contest the 2011 presidential election which had  earlier been zoned to the North.

Following the hoopla over zoning however, the Peoples Democratic Party PDP,recently took a position which opened the race for all while still saying it believes in zoning.This double-edged  position of the party however has  cleared the way for President Jonathan to run.Though Jonathan is yet to openlyy declare his interest , there are crystal clear indications that he will run in next year’s election.

The battle for Jonathan has splintered the North with those against his bid now saying he is about to  deny the north of the next four years in the presidency.That is why Sambo  is  calling for calm , urging northerners not to harbour any fears that Jonathan will deny the north of power.Sambo said: : "Am I not part of the power? I think I am from the North and as the Vice-President, I have confidence that whatever a President from the North will do, I am in the best position to do it for the North’’.

Apparently Sambo is making frantic efforts in a very unusual way  to calm the  frayed nerves of Northerners who are agitated about the prospect of the Jonathan 'seizing' the northern slot.Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Military President Ibrahim Babangida who are also in the race have been championing the call for Jonathan not to contest.Perhaps that is why the vice president said he is not bothered by those making the loudest noise.Hear him:   "If the people that are talking do not have personal interests, then it will be a different matter. But when you see people that have interest, and they are the same people talking, then it becomes a kind of problem."

In what appears like the most direct campaign for the Jonathan 2011 race the veepee said `` I am from the North; I’m part of power and everything that is needed to do for the North is being done. Look at what has been happening of recent.’’

Furthermore,Sambo who spoke with a select group of editors from newpapers and magazines including newsdiaryonline.com in Abuja also let Nigerians know that his boss,  the president is neither  an ethnic champion nor a sectional politician.In the Vice President’s words:"The major programmes that are being implemented for this part of the country, that is the northern part, there are evidence to show that we have a President that is patriotic, a President that does not have anything that is religious or sectional as part of his disposition or administration."