US Commends President Goodluck Jonathan

*Says he has consolidated grip on power

*Believes Yar�Adua�s men won�t engineer political come back

Acting President Goodluck Jonathan�s consolidation of his grip on power is drawing applause from the United States of America which says his efforts are easing a political crisis that once fanned fears of instability in the country.

Assistant Secretary of State Johnnie Carson said Washington was encouraged that Jonathan was moving on electoral reforms, anti-corruption efforts and peace outreach in the restive Niger Delta, the centre of Nigeria�s largest energy industry.

�I think he�s done a very good job of consolidating his authority and reassuring all segments of the community,� Carson, the Obama administration�s top diplomat for Africa, told Reuters in an interview.

Jonathan assumed power in early February to try to end government paralysis in the absence of President Umaru Yar�Adua, who had been in Saudi Arabia receiving treatment for a heart condition for more than two months.

Yar�Adua subsequently returned but remains too sick to govern and is essentially incommunicado � a situation that led U.S. officials to express concern over a potential power struggle among different leadership factions.

Carson said those fears had receded as Jonathan cemented his authority, including taking steps to name a new Cabinet, and that it was unlikely those who back Yar�Adua would try to engineer a political comeback.

�We don�t know whether he will come back. But I think the country is in fact moving on,� Carson said. �We believe those in power in senior positions have clearly opted to support a stable democracy during this period of uncertainty.�

U.S. officials have urged Jonathan to speed preparations for elections due in 2011, saying a repeat of the vote-rigging and intimidation that marred the 2007 vote that brought Yar�Adua to power would be disastrous.

Nigeria�s ruling party has said it wants the next president to be a northerner, in line with a principle that power rotates around the country, effectively ruling Jonathan out of another term.

Carson said the United States supported the rotation principle as a guarantor of stability in Nigeria.
�We hope that the political balance which has given Nigeria its political stability will prevail,� he said
Source: Vanguardngr.com