The tension that has gripped the nation in the last 30 days since President Umaru Yar’Adua was admitted to King Faisal Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia may soon be over as Vice President Goodluck Jonathan is likely to take over as acting president on or before January 1, 2010. BusinessDay investigations revealed that the ailing president has been persuaded to accept the reality that the nation must move forward while he takes time off to attend to his health. In this regard, he is expected to transmit to the National Assembly a declaration that he will take leave on health grounds. This will pave way for Jonathan to take full charge of government as acting president. BusinessDay investigations revealed that the news coming from King Faisal Hospital has set the leadership of the National Assembly abuzz with excitement and but has elicited concern from both the president’s family and the northern power establishment. According to a source close to the seat of power, “what the president is battling with is a condition and not necessarily a disease. His condition is such that when he eventually comes back to the country, he may take a prolonged bed rest during which he would have to return within one month to the Saudi hospital. “He may be too weak to handle state duties. Yar’Adua has, therefore, yielded to pressure to transfer power to Jonathan, who will rule in acting capacity. Yar’Adua is a good man, he is not power hungry. He wants the best for the country.” Several meetings are now being held in Lagos, Abuja, Kaduna and other parts of the country on the next move. The north has come to terms with the reality that the constitution must be followed knowing that the consequences of deviating will be great, according to the source. Jonathan has been given conditions that he must adhere to before he becomes acting president. The most important to the north is that he must not seek to run for presidency in 2011 after serving out Yar’Adua’s tenure. One reason put forward for Jonathan to take over before New Year is to douse the tension in the country, a situation which observers say may tempt the military. The northern political elite is afraid that should the military strike using the power vacuum as excuse, the south especially the Niger Delta will see it as an attempt to deprive them of power. With the restiveness in the region, an attempt by the north to take over power using the military may result to disastrous consequences. Reports over the weekend indicated that Obasanjo and ex-President Ibrahim Babangida have met with the military top brass and extracted assurances from them that the military will not interfere with the process of transfer of power. Many prominent Nigerians and civil society groups had in the last few weeks called on Yar’Adua to resign so that he will have enough time to address the issue of his health. The most prominent of these were the Nigerian Bar Association and the G-55 made up of politicians from across the country that signed an initial joint statement calling on Yar’Adua to step down on account of ill-health. The group included Balarabe Musa, Aminu Bello Masari, Pat Utomi, among others. The opposition Action Congress (AC) had last weekend renewed its call for the minister of information to give the nation daily briefing on the health situation of the president.
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