The leader of Nigeria's ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) has bowed to growing demand to resign his post over charges of embezzlement. PDP Chairman Vincent Ogbulafor submitted his letter of resignation to the party's deputy chairman on Thursday, the Lagos-based ThisDay newspaper reported. The resignation is to take effect in 30 days.
The embattled Ogbulafor has been accused of fraud and funneling money to fictitious projects on 16 occasions. He has, however, denounced the accusations as "politically motivated."
The decision comes as many analysts question whether or not the resignation might have an impact on the ruling party's assessment of picking acting President Goodluck Jonathan as its next candidate for the presidency in the next election in 2011.
Ogbulafor had stated in March that the next president must be from the Muslim north to satisfy the party's internal power-sharing agreement.
Under PDP`s policy, candidates for presidency within the party are chosen in rotation between the mainly Muslim north and Christian south for two four-year terms. Accordingly, since Jonathan is a Christian, the next candidate must be from the Muslim north.
The first term of the late Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua, a Muslim who passed away on May 5, began in 2007.