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Nigeria's President and Vice President Take Dispute to Court
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=1585FD5:A6F02AD83191E160AE3B565EEC1D30AC9574F7DCC14957C0 President Olusegun
Obasanjo says Vice President Atiku Abubakar should not stay in office
after accepting opposition party's nomination to run in presidential
election





Olusegun ObasanjoNigeria's president and vice president have both
started legal proceedings in a dispute over whether the vice president
can remain in office.

President Olusegun Obasanjo says Vice President Atiku Abubakar should
not stay in office after accepting an opposition party's nomination to
run in the presidential election next April. The president says the
constitution stipulates that both the president and his deputy should
belong to the same political party.

Vice President Abubakar says he has a right to remain in office until
his term ends or unless he is impeached.







Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar at the venue of the Action
Congress (AC) election in Lagos, 20 Dec. 2006Both politicians on
Wednesday asked an appellate court in the capital, Abuja, to rule on
the issue.

The ruling People's Democratic Party expelled Abubakar last week and
urged the president to dismiss him. The party suspended him earlier
this year over corruption allegations. Abubakar says the charges are
politically motivated.

Last week, Abubakar accepted the support of a small opposition party,
the Action Congress, for his presidential candidacy.

Tensions have been growing for months between the vice president and
President Obasanjo. Their relations soured after the vice president
opposed an effort to amend the constitution so President Obasanjo
could run for a third term.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.

 


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