Nigerian president retains deputy for 2015 polls

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan Thursday announced that he would retain Vice President Namadi Sambo as his running mate for the February 2015 presidential election.

Jonathan named his running mate after accepting his endorsement as sole presidential candidate of the Nigerian ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP), at a special national convention of the party which kicked off late Wednesday in Abuja, Xinhua reported.

Earlier, there was speculation that the Nigerian leader might opt for a different running mate.

Sambo had assumed office as vice president in 2010 and was later named Jonathan's running mate for the 2011 presidential election.

The Nigerian leader said, if re-elected, he would, together with his running mate, fight and win the war against corruption and myriads of problems for which his administration had been severely criticised.

Jonathan was first endorsed in October by senior party officials who, considering his transformation agenda for the African nation, urged him to step forward for re-election.

Nigeria's electoral body, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has fixed Feb 14 for the election.