Call for Nigerian president to resign

ABUJA - Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar says President Olusegun Obasanjo should resign for seeking a third term in office.

The statement from Abubakar's office followed an earlier call by an Obasanjo spokesman for the vice president to resign after he gave a speech against the idea of a third term to a meeting of opposition leaders.

"The call for resignation should be directed at the President... for pursuing an agenda that is subversive of the constitution, and the will of the majority of Nigerians," said the statement signed by Abubakar's spokesman.

"For the avoidance of doubt, the Vice President believes tenure elongation is morally wrong and a breach of the constitution, which he took the oath to defend," it said.

Abubakar made a speech against a third term to five state governors, more than 100 lawmakers and several opposition leaders at an overnight meeting, held at the house of one of the governors after police stopped the group gathering at a hotel.

Obasanjo is nearing the end of his second term at the helm of Africa's most populous country. The constitution prevents him from seeking a third, but some allies have launched a powerful campaign to amend the charter to make a third term possible.

Obasanjo has not said publicly whether or not he wants to stand again but he has done nothing to stop the campaign to amend the constitution.

- REUTERS