After more than 40 days at the King Faisal Hospital and Research Centre in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia where he was admitted since November 23, 2009 for pericarditis, ailing President Umaru Yar’Adua may return to Nigeria this week, BusinessDay has learnt. His absence for treatment of the ailment for inflammation of the membrane of the heart had led to a vacuum in the presidency as power was not transferred to Vice President Goodluck Jonathan. BusinessDay investigations revealed that the president may have been certified strong enough to return home to douse the growing tension his absence has caused in the country although he may be required to go back again after one or two months for follow up visit. The president’s absence has thrown the country into constitutional crisis. While the government through the attorney-general, Michael Aondoakaa, has insisted that Yar’Adua could rule from anywhere and that there was no power vacuum in government, many organisations and individuals have called on the president to resign in order to have enough time to take care of his health. Some other groups have clamoured for the president to transmit a letter to the National Assembly so that Vice President Jonathan could become acting president. One of the major issues that have arisen from the present situation of Yar’Adua’s absence is the swearing in of the new chief justice of the federation, Ignatius Katsina-Alu by his predecessor, Idris Kutigi, an action the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) described as illegal. The NBA has also gone to court to challenge the legality of Katsina-Alu’s swearing by Kutigi. Also, activist lawyer, Femi Falana, has gone to court to challenge the legality of the decisions that have been taken by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) presided over by Jonathan since Yar’Adua’s absence. Apart from the announcement a few days after Yar’Adua’s departure to Jeddah that the president was suffering from pericarditis, there has been no further official communication concerning Yar’Adua’s health condition. Recently, information minister, Dora Akunyili, announced that it is only the president’s doctors in Saudi Arabia that could say when Yar’Adua would return. The statement had triggered an alarm in the country as it was interpreted that the president’s situation was critical. The opposition Action Congress had called on the government to brief the nation daily on the president’s condition. There were unconfirmed reports last week that Yar’Adua may have been moved out of Saudi Arabia to a third country. However, the Federal Government failed to react to the report by a national daily. Last week, John Campbell, a former US ambassador to Nigeria, raised alarm that the present situation caused by Yar’Adua’s absence could lure the military to intervene possibly with a nominal civilian head. According to Campbell, “Yar’Adua’s removal from office would result in a political and constitutional crisis for the United States’ most important strategic partner in Africa and one of its largest suppliers of oil.” The ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has maintained that there is no vacancy in Aso Rock, the seat of government, meaning that whatever the situation is, Yar’Adua is still in control. An expression of this is the fact that the government claims that the 2009 supplementary budget was taken to Yar’Adua to sign into law on his sickbed in Saudi Arabia. However, many individuals and groups, including some lawmakers have doubted the authenticity of the government’s claim that Yar’Adua signed the supplementary appropriation bill.
Jan42010