THERE are indications that President Umaru Yar’Adua’s health may have become worsened. This follows what sources said was the inability of the President to attend major functions and receive visitors since Friday. It was gathered from sources at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, that many people who had wanted to see the president had not been able to do so since Friday.
It was gathered that President Yar�Adua, immediately after last Wednesday�s Federal Executive Council (FEC), could not attend any other function at the Villa.
This may have led to his absence at the Thursday�s May Day rally as he was only represented by the Labour Minister, Dr. Hasan Lawal. Many labour leaders had expected the President to attend the rally, being the first to hold since he was sworn in as the country�s president on May 29.
The sources did not disclose how long the President would stay indoors, or when doctors would certify him fit to carry out his official duties.
The President returned to the country a few days ago after he had undergone treatment in a German hospital for an ailment diagnosed to be Churg-Strauss syndrome, a disorder, according to medical journals, that causes inflammation in blood vessels.
� Mr. President loved to be at the Eagle Square last Thursday to solidarise with the workers, but I am afraid his state of health did not allow him to do so,� the source confided.
The President, sources said, has confined himself to the Villa on the advice of his doctors and has shunned outside engagements due to his bad health, as he was said to need more time to rest and recuperate.
Efforts to speak with the presidential spokesman, Mr. Segun Adeniyi, on the state of the health of the President, proved abortive as he refused to pick several telephone calls made to him.
It was also gathered that some Aso Rock workers may have been interrogated in the past few days because of news reports on the President�s health.
�You guys are going to make people here lose their jobs. Already, there are interrogations going on concerning all the leaks about the President�s health,� a source told an online news agency.