President Jonathan arrives at Wadata House, the PDP secretariat to obtain the nomination form. The party says only one form was printed as he is the sole candidate

Jonathan picks the form from the party’s organising secretary, Abubakar Mustapha. watching is party chairman, Adamu Mu’azu

Party chiefs, SFG, Pius Anyim, Governor Godswill Akpabio and Professor Alkali, political adviser were also on hand at Wadata House

Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan formally began his re-election bid on Thursday, thanking God, his supporters and the state governors who helped raise the $130,000 nomination fee.

Jonathan appeared at a brief ceremony at the headquarters of his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), where he collected a nomination form for the PDP presidential ticket.

He has so far no opponents in the party’s primaries and is therefore virtually guaranteed to be on the ballot for the February polls.

“First, let me thank God for today,” the 56-year-old leader of Africa’s most populous country and top oil producer said.

“Let me thank the leadership of our great party and all members of our party for believing in me,” he said, noting how they raised the funds for his nomination.

Jonathan’s staggered re-election announcement — without any direct declaration from his own lips — has been described as drawn-out by some commentators.

It began with news from his office on October 23 that he had decided to run, followed by a statement announcing his plans to collect the nomination form.

A list of his re-election team with more than 200 names was then printed in leading newspapers.

The re-election announcement process is expected to culminate with a public event on November 11, organised by the Presidential Declaration Committee headed by former defence minister Bello Haliru Mohammed.