There was confusion on Monday on the exact day that President Umaru Yar�Adua would return to Nigeria after 12 days of stay in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Yar�Adua�s trip to the oil-rich Kindom had been a subject of controversy. The Presidency had claimed that he went for the lesser Hajj but the media reported that it was for a medical treatment.
On Sunday when anxiety heightened over the state of his health, a national daily (not THE PUNCH) quoted him on Monday as saying that he might be back in the country anytime from Tuesday.
But an online news agency, Saharareporters, said it gathered from a �highly classified source � that the President would return on Wednesday (tomorrow).
The source told the agency that Yar�Adua was fit enough to be back in Aso Rock to continue his official duties.
Our correspondents, however, gathered that the President might return to another country for a more comprehensive treatment in a matter of weeks.
But the source was not categorical on whether or not Yar�Adua would go to Germany where he has a record of long treatment.
Attempts to speak with aides of the President on the exact date of his arrival were unsuccessful as their telephone lines were switched off.
A text message sent to the Minister of Information and Communication, Mr. John Odey, was not replied to as at 9.15pm.
His Special Assistant on Media, Mr. Rotimi Ajayi, however, referred our correspondent to Yar�Adua�s Special Adviser on Communication, Mr. Olusegun Adeniyi, for further confirmation on plans by the President to arrive on Wednesday.
But the calls made to Adeniyi�s phone was not picked.
It was learnt that presidential aides were divided as at Monday evening on the modality for the President�s return to the country .
While a group was said to be disposed to making it an elaborate affair, the source said another set of aides felt it should be quiet.
Those who support an elaborate reception for his return were said to have suggested that the President should be received at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, by a team of senior government officials.
According to the source, the aides believe that doing so would enable Yar�Adua to dispel rumours about what he had described as an �exaggeration� on his state of health.
A source who spoke with one of our correspondents on Monday said the fact that the President travelled to Saudi Arabia with some of his family members and could respond to enquiries from Nigeria made the claim that he was in the oil-rich kingdom on a lesser hajj spurious.
He said, �Lesser hajj is a spiritual thing. You need to be absolutely alone to commune with your creator.
�So, if the president is on a lesser hajj, he needed not go with his wife and some other members of his family.�
An official of the King Fahd Hospital in Jeddah had confirmed to the Associated Press that the President was treated in the hospital.
The official however did not say the nature of the treatment.
Another twist was however added to the controversy on the President�s health on Monday by a United States-based Nigerian medical doctor, Dr. Edward Oparaoji.
Oparaoji, who is the Global Medical Affairs Chief of Nephrology Section, at the Shire Pharmaceuticals, in Pennsylvania, USA said Yar�Adua might have sought medical attention in Saudi Arabia due to a possible refusal by a hospital in Wiesbaden, Germany, where he had previously used to carry out a kidney transplant on him.
A US-based Nigerian news agency, Empowered Newswire, quoted him as saying that the President might have been suffering from a condition called Churg Strauss Syndrome.
He described CSS as � rare and one of many forms of vasculitis diseases characterised by inflammation of blood vessels, especially small arteries and veins.�
Explaining why the President�s alleged condition may not be surgically operable on ethical grounds in a Western hospital, Oparaoji said the disease might have reached an advanced stage.
�It (CSS) is likely that it has severely affected other more vulnerable organs such as the lungs, abdomen, skin, prostate, nerves and or muscles,� he said.
The medical doctor added that there was the likelihood of infections (bacterial, fungal and/or viral), due to the drugs used in CSS, which depresses the body�s ability to fight infections.
He said, �If the above conditions exist, Yar�Adua may not have qualified for kidney transplant, especially in any transplant centre in the West.
�Kidney transplant is possible when one has no other severe or life-threatening condition such as CSS (a badly managed one for that matter), that may hinder transplant.�
Meanwhile, a human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, has chided the Federal Government officials for the manner in which they have handled information about the health of the President.
Falana, who is the President of the West African Bar Association said, �I am ashamed to see how people have been toying with the President�s health. They did it so badly as to deny him the sympathy of Nigerians.
�Initially, they said he went for only lesser hajj. But it has now been confirmed that he was admitted to a hospital in Saudi Arabia. And doctors had to be flown from Germany to attend to him.
�I think it is a shame that those in charge of information in this country, who are spending public fund on such secret matter, cannot be honest. This should be the last time Nigerians accept this shame.�
Arguing that those hoarding information on Yar�Adua�s health were violating the constitution, Falana said, �By virtue of Section 144, we have got to a situation whereby we have to initiate the setting up of a medical panel by the President of the Senate to examine the President and diagnose his ailment and find out whether he is capable to continue to govern us.
�The constitution has already envisaged that the President of the country may fall ill and he may not be able to take up the functions of his office. There should be no hide and seek or misinformation.
�Those who are mismanaging the information of his health are violating the constitution. They should be very careful not to jeopardise the security of the country.�