As expected, the state of health of President Umaru Yar’ Adua and a crippling fuel shortage nationwide continued to dominate newspaper pages in Nigeria.
The private Vanguard newspaper headlined its story on the President’s health thus: “24 days after, Ministers still can’t reach Yar’Adua,” and reported that 24 days after he was taken to Saudi Arabia for medical attention, the hide-and-seek game over the state of health of President Yar’Adua continued with top Federal Government officials preferring that Nigerians be silent over the all-important issue for which virtually no information has been released.
According to the paper, “Very worrisome, however, is the fact that since Yar’Adua left Nigeria for Saudi Arabia, none of his cabinet members had spoken with him.”
“Federal Government lying about Yar’Adua’s health – Arewa,” was the headline story of the Nigerian Tribune, another privately-owned newspaper.
The paper said the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), regarded as the authoritative voice of Northern Nigeria, appeared to have run out of patience over the controversy surrounding the health of President Yar’Adua and chided the Fe deral Government and other government officials for presenting conflicting reports to Nigerians.
The ACF, in a communiqué at the end of its National Working Committee (NEC) meeting in Kaduna, believed Nigerians were not told the truth about President Yar’Adua, who is currently receiving treatment in a Saudi Arabian hospital.
‘They are hiding the true position on the health situation of President Umaru Yar’adua from Nigerians. Rather than put Nigerians in the true picture of the health condition of the president, there have been conflicting statements from governme nt functionaries about the real situation of the president,’ the group said.
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Michael Aondoaka a (SAN), seemd to have fuelled the speculations on Yar’Adua’s health when he said “AGF: Yar’Adua Can Work from Anywhere”, according to the Thisday newsp aper.
The paper said a new dimension emerged in the controversy thrown up by President Yar’Adua’s continued stay in Saudi Arabia on medical grounds.
The president can effectively perform his official functions without actually being in the country as the law does not specify that he should always be around to discharge the duties of his office, Aondoakaa said.
Yar’Adua was flown out of the country to King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on 23 November.
On the current fuel shortage in the country, the Vanguard headlined its story “Fuel scarcity cripples businesses nationwide.”
The paper said another round of fuel scarcity became apparent nationwide on Monday, 10 days to Christmas, leaving commuters stranded, businesses paralysed and Nigerians fleeced at the few filling stations where the product was available.
Checks revealed that in view of the current realities, several motorists – weary of being stranded – were compelled to purchase petrol at deregulated prices with in and outside filling stations at prices ranging between 80 Naira and 180 Naira per li tre, depending on the part of the country (US$1=150 Naira).