The Nigerian cabinet has been ordered by the federal court to decide within 14 days if ill President Umaru Yar'Adua is fit to lead the country.

The president has been in Saudi Arabia for two months, receiving treatment for a heart condition.

The court ruling directed the cabinet to pass a resolution about whether he "is incapable of discharging the functions of his office".

The president's absence has raised concerns about a power vacuum.

The court ruled that cabinet should hear testimony from five doctors, one of whom should be the president's personal physician.

If cabinet decides that the president is not fit to carry out his duties, the vice-president would take over, the court ruled.

President Yar'Adua is being treated for inflammation of the lining around the heart and has a long-standing kidney complaint.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/8474535.stm

I think this stanard is applicable to the united states but i dont know if any part of our military constitution gave the cabinet powers to declare a resolution on yaradua.before any comments,can anybod check the 1999 constitution if such provision is available

The court is simply instructing  the FEC to implement the necessary sections of the constitution as shown below. In a serious country the FEC would have dealt with this situation according to section 144 of the constitution.

I hope Jonathan will be man enough to order a live broadcast of the FEC meeting on the day in question so that we will all know the enemies of Nigeria. That was how 3rd term was defeated . . . . the same can be done right here.

144. (1) The President or Vice-President shall cease to hold office, if -

(a) by a resolution passed by two-thirds majority of all the members of the executive council of the Federation it is declared that the President or Vice-President is incapable of discharging the functions of his office; and

(b) the declaration is verified, after such medical examination as may be necessary, by a medical panel established under subsection (4) of this section in its report to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

(2) Where the medical panel certifies in the report that in its opinion the President or Vice-President is suffering from such infirmity of body or mind as renders him permanently incapable of discharging the functions of his office, a notice thereof signed by the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall be published in the Official Gazette of the Government of the Federation.

(3) The President or Vice-President shall cease to hold office as from the date of publication of the notice of the medical report pursuant to subsection (2) of this section.

(4) the medical panel to which this section relates shall be appointed by the President of the Senate, and shall comprise five medical practitioners in Nigeria:-

(a) one of whom shall be the personal physician of the holder of the office concerned; and

(b) four other medical practitioners who have, in the opinion of the President of the Senate, attained a high degree of eminence in the field of medicine relative to the nature of the examination to be conducted in accordance with the foregoing provisions.

(5) In this section, the reference to "executive council of the Federation" is a reference to the body of Ministers of the Government of the Federation, howsoever called, established by the President and charged with such responsibilities for the functions of government as the President may direct.

am feeling feverish on the spot of this news

will the fec declare him unfit? never. maybe in another life. for now they are enjoying their stay

all hail president gooluck jonathan

[size=18pt]Nigerian gov't to abide by court ruling on Yar'Adua[/size]

ABUJA, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Nigeria's cabinet will abide by a federal court ruling and decide within 14 days whether ailing President Umaru Yar'Adua is fit enough to continue his presidential duties, the attorney general said on Friday.
"We will abide by the judgement of the court. The Executive Council of the Federation will within 14 days, as directed, consider a resolution on the state of the president's health," said Attorney General Michael Aondoakaa. (Reporting by Camillus Eboh; Writing by Randy Fabi; Editing by Nick Tattersall)

http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKLDE60L14220100122

Even though I know that Aondoakaa will be plotting his new move, his games are coming to an end. I hope he sees the handwritting on the wall.

This option has been there since and they didnt do it.what makes us think they will declare him unfit when they all have undying loyalty for yaradua

~Bluetooth:

This option has been there since and they didnt do it.what makes us think they will declare him unfit when they all have undying loyalty for yaradua

They can declare him fit if they like . . . . . but pass a resolution they must because that is what the constitution says.

It will also be nice to see the likes of Aba Ruma, Dora Akunyili etc telling us on National TV that the President is fit but yet on a sick bed in Jedda with no definite return date.

Mind you what ever conclusion they arrive at is subject to verification by a medical panel.

They can choose to stage a charade if they like . . ,  . . but the process and provisions of section 144 must be respected.

what will you expect from the bunch of praise singer, they will still dissapoint, they owed their allegiance to one man and not to the nigeria state

The same old s h i t,what do you expect from these bunch of i d i o t s who would never do anything good atleast for their generations to come.anyways lets watch and see ooooooooooooooo

[size=18pt]THIS RULING CAN & MOST LIKELY WILL BE APPEALED AGAINST. . . . . . [/size] Stay tuned.

What happens if they dont act 'on the ruling?

jimmysho:

all hail president gooluck jonathan

Honestly, I don't pray to have this kind of man as deputy, first it was Alams loosing his job to him, now Yar' adua, lol.

I will you guys this, that yar'dua will be in the country before the 14 days end,
Trust me!!!

this is the last episode of the missing president.the next series will premiere in 14 days in all political cinemas around the country.150 million tickets available.buy your tickets today.

Crap! Shey una think sey na 24 be dis? The Federal Executive Council will never declare the President unfit to rule. Dem no get the liver. I don't envy the FEC members cos there will be a lot of blackmailing & arm twisting leading up to the passing of this resolution.

The 14 most critical days in our 10 years of democracy starts today.We can make or mar Nigeria in 14 days.Its up to the FEC to decide whether Nigeria remains Nigeria or another country.

more than anything our cynicism emboldens our leaders to perpetrate illegality.

lakesideng:

I will you guys this, that yar'dua will be in the country before the 14 days end,
Trust me!!!

Exactly

The handwriting is on the wall, Yaraduas days in power are numbered I pray he's able to resign honorably, Goodluck history beckons on you I know u can do it

lakesideng:

I will you guys this, that yar'dua will be in the country before the 14 days end,
Trust me!!!

Not by power,not by might.You think that his earnest desire all these while has been to remain in hospital.The guy is damn sick if not he would have been back since.

;d

naija_swag:

this is the last episode of the missing president.the next series will premiere in 14 days in all political cinemas around the country.150 million tickets available.buy your tickets today.

lol

The road for jonathan to become Nigerian Acting President will be clearer in 14 days!

The Truth is incontrovertible, Aodoaka may deride it, FEC may surpress it,

But, there it is!

The present leader leaders in both the senate and house of Representative is the worst set of leaders in the history of humanity.Nemesis will catch up with them.Just becos of their loyalty and allegiance to one man they are holding the whole country to ransome.After the revolution that is about to happen in Nigeria,we are going to chase all of them out of Nigeria.

tomv:

The road for jonathan to become Nigerian Acting President will b[b]e clearer in 14 days![/b]

The Truth is incontrovertible, Aodoaka may deride it, FEC may surpress it,

But, there it is!

The whole thing is getting hazy and bleak.14  days is a long time for anything to happen.

I am not a lawyer but I find this ruling senseless and absurd. Under what constitutional premise was this ruling arrived at. Nigerians expect more from a 2mil naira/mth judge

I hope the Ministers have not all sworn to oath of secrecy and loyalty till death? Will they have the courage to vote against the President who nominated them? Let us wait and see how event unfolds in Nigeria.

Pennywise:

I am not a lawyer but I find this ruling senseless and absurd. Under what constitutional premise was this ruling arrived at. Nigerians expect more from a 2mil naira/mth judge

I am not a lawyer too but this section of the constitution as quoted earlier supports this but does not provide the time frame.The courts have decided to make it an open ended issue for FEC so that we can break this political deadlock or stalemate.They should have invoked this section since if they had the interest of Nigeria at heart.

144. (1) The President or Vice-President shall cease to hold office, if -

(a) by a resolution passed by two-thirds majority of all the members of the executive council of the Federation it is declared that the President or Vice-President is incapable of discharging the functions of his office; and

(b) the declaration is verified, after such medical examination as may be necessary, by a medical panel established under subsection (4) of this section in its report to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

(2) Where the medical panel certifies in the report that in its opinion the President or Vice-President is suffering from such infirmity of body or mind as renders him permanently incapable of discharging the functions of his office, a notice thereof signed by the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall be published in the Official Gazette of the Government of the Federation.

(3) The President or Vice-President shall cease to hold office as from the date of publication of the notice of the medical report pursuant to subsection (2) of this section.

(4) the medical panel to which this section relates shall be appointed by the President of the Senate, and shall comprise five medical practitioners in Nigeria:-

(a) one of whom shall be the personal physician of the holder of the office concerned; and

(b) four other medical practitioners who have, in the opinion of the President of the Senate, attained a high degree of eminence in the field of medicine relative to the nature of the examination to be conducted in accordance with the foregoing provisions.

(5) In this section, the reference to "executive council of the Federation" is a reference to the body of Ministers of the Government of the Federation, howsoever called, established by the President and charged with such responsibilities for the functions of government as the President may direct.