20100918
reuters

ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan showed the power of incumbency on Saturday, mustering the support of more than two thirds of powerful state governors for the launch of his re-election campaign.

Thousands of supporters gathered in Abuja's central Eagle Square to hear Jonathan proclaim his candidacy for the January election, shaping up to be the most fiercely contested since the end of military rule.

"This is more than a crowd, it is almost like a revolution," Jonathan said as he addressed his supporters.

The election bid by Jonathan, from the oil-producing Niger Delta in the south, faces resistance from some parts of the north as it breaks an unwritten agreement that power should rotate between the country's main regions every two terms.

But analysts predicted Jonathan would only announce his candidacy if he was sure of winning enough support from within the ruling party. Saturday's rally seemed to demonstrate he had built up that confidence over recent weeks.

"The northeast zone will rally round you and we assure you that we will deliver you the highest number of votes come 2011," Isa Yuguda, governor of northeastern Bauchi state and once seen as a potential presidential contender, told the rally.

Jonathan inherited the presidency when president Umaru Yar'Adua, a northerner, died this year during his first term, and some powerbrokers in the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) have said the next leader must be a northerner.

Key to Jonathan's fortunes at the mid-October primaries will be the state governors, who form a powerful caucus within the PDP. Twenty-six of the country's 36 governors, including several northerners, spoke at Jonathan's rally in support of his bid.