Muslim is favorite to become next President of Nigeria

The People's Democratic Party of Nigeria, the country's governing party, has selected Umaru Yar'Adua (55) a governor of a northern province and a Muslim, to be its candidate in next year's presidential election.

The selection by of the governor, Umaru Yar'Adua, a 55-year-old former chemistry teacher, makes him the front-runner in the race to succeed Olusegun Obasanjo, who is barred by the Constitution from seeking a third term. If the transition takes place, it will be the first time in Nigeria's independence, that one elected government has handed power on to another elected government. Nigeria is Africa's most populous, with 130 million residents, and is the continent's leading oil exporter. Supporters of Olusegun  Obasanjo tried to amend the Constitution to allow him to run for a third term, but were defeated within the president's own party.

There are has more than 200 ethnic groups in Nigeria, with the population about evenly divided between Christians and Muslims. The outgoing President, Olusegun  Obasanjo is a Christian Yoruba from the southwest.Yar'Adua said he had chosen a running mate from the Niger Delta, Goodluck Jonathan, the governor of the state of Bayelsa and a member of the Ijaw ethnic group. The choice appeared to be in part aimed at cooling the insurgency in the oil-producing region led by Ijaws that has reduced oil production by 25 percent.Mr. Yar'Adua has a reputation for being tough on corruption. He ahs been close to  Obasanjo – his older brother, Shehu, was Obasanjo's deputy when he (Obasanjo) was the country's military ruler.