President Goodluck Jonathan's ambition to contest the presidential election next year has received a boost with the go ahead from the northern governors to contest.

The call came barely 24hours, the south-south governors have asked the President to run

The nineteen state governors under aegis of the Northern Governors Forum (NGF) unanimously asked the president to contest the 2011 presidential election.

Speaking after a meeting in Kaduna on Tuesday, July 27, the Forum acknowledged the right of President Jonathan and indeed any other Nigerian to legitimately and constitutionally contest the 2011 presidential election.

In a communique issued by the Chairman of the Forum and Niger state governor, Dr. Muazu Aliyu says that the Forum recognizes the fact that the issue of zoning is a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) affair as contained in section 7 sub-section 2c of the party constitution.

"Therefore, in acknowledging the circumstances of force majeure arising from the demise of late President Musa Yar'Adua and subsequent ascendance of President Goodluck Jonathan to the presidency, the forum resolved that wider consultations should continue at all party levels within the PDP with all stakeholders across the nation to address the concerns of all in the interest of peaceful coexistence" NGF said.

Their South-South counterpart yesterday asked President Jonathan to vie for the 2011 presidential election.

The call to the president to declare his intention at the South- South Governors' Forum in Port-Harcourt ahead of today's NGF meeting was held to pave way for Jonathan to run.

The argument whether Jonathan will run or not has been dragging for a long time brought about by opposition by the north, advancing zoning arrangement in PDP against his presidential bid.

The agenda of the meeting, tagged "Dynamics of the 2011 Presidential Election In Nigeria" intended to pave a way for president Jonathan who is yet to declare his intentions for the 2011 elections, to run for the post of president next year.

Delegates, elders and opinion leaders from the region also urged other zones of the country to identify with the presidential aspiration of Jonathan and jettison the current zoning formula within the PDP.

Meanwhile, the Deputy Governor of Sokoto state, Alhaji Muktar Shagari has kicked against PDP zoning formula, declaring that the best candidate for president in the 2011 elections cannot be produced through zoning.

Alhaji Shagari made the comment at a roundtable on the 2011 elections which took place in Abuja.

He however added that the north should consider the support which the south-south has rendered to the north and northern leaders over the years.

Also lending his voice to the argument on zoning, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Adoke says political parties must democratize the process of choosing candidates to run in elections.