987–99. He was
Chairman of Nation House Press Ltd, Kaduna,
from 1995 to 1999.
Early Political Career
During the Second Republic (1979–83),
Yar'Adua was a member of the leftist People's
Redemption Party, while his father was briefly
the National Vice chairman of the National Party
of Nigeria. During the Transition Programme of
President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida,
Yar'Adua was one of the foundation members of
the Peoples Front, a political association under
the leadership of his elder brother, the late
Major-General Shehu Musa Yar'Adua. That
association later fused to form the Social
Democratic Party. Yar'Adua was a member of
the 1988 Constituent Assembly. He was a
member of the party's National Caucus and the
SDP State Secretary in Katsina and contested
the 1991 Governorship election, but lost to
Saidu Barda, the candidate of the National
Republican Convention and an ally of Babangida.
In 1999, he ran for the same position and won.
He was re-elected in 2003. He was the first
governor to publicly declare his assets.
In the year of 2000, during his administration as
governor, Katsina became the fifth northern
Nigerian state to adopt sharia, or Islamic law. In
2002 Amina Lawal, a woman from Katsina, was
sentenced to death by stoning by a sharia court
in the town of Bakori for committing adultery;
the story attracted international attention. Her
sentence was at first upheld by a court in the
town of Funtua, then overturned a year later
following an appeal.
According to a public hearing that was carried
out shortly after his death in May 2010, there
has never being a Governor like him in the
history of Katsina State.
Governor Ibrahim Shema of Katsina State has
attributed the achievements recorded in the
state to the sagacity of former governor and late
President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. The late
Yar’Adua was governor for eight years in Katsina
State from 1999 to 2007 before he was
succeeded by the incumbent.
James Danjuma Reported to the National Mirror
on May 30, 2013 that;
Shema said the late Yar’Adua worked very hard
as governor to provide dividends of democracy
for his people and after he had left, people were
still talking about the good things he did.
The governor said some of the important
projects the late Yar’Adua had begun before he
became President were completed by his
administration because they had positive bearing
on the people.
Shema, who was speaking during the Democracy
Day celebration event in the state, thanked
stakeholders for supporting his administration in
the last six years in its efforts to provide
dividends of democracy for the people.
He said with two years before the end of his
administration, the policy of free education for
primary and secondary school students would
be maintained.
Presidential Nomination
On 16–17 December 2006, Yar'Adua was chosen
as the presidential candidate of the ruling PDP
for the April 2007 election, receiving 3,024 votes
from party delegates; his closest rival, Rochas
Okorocha, received 372 votes. Yar'Adua's
success in the primary was attributed to the
support of incumbent President Olusegun
Obasanjo; At the time of his nomination he was
an obscure figure on the national stage, and has
been described as a "puppet" of Obasanjo who
could not have won the nomination under fair
circumstances. Shortly after winning the
nomination, Yar'Adua chose Goodluck Jonathan,
governor of Bayelsa State, as his vice-
presidential candidate.
Another view of the support he received from
President Obasanjo is that he was one of few
serving governors with a spotless record, devoid
of any suspicions or charges of corruption. He
also belonged to the People's Democratic
Movement (PDM) – a powerful political block
founded by his late brother, Shehu Musa
Yar'Adua, who was also Obasanjo's vice
president during his military rule.
In 2007 Umaru Yar'Adua, who suffered from a
kidney condition, challenged his critics to a
game of squash in an endeavor to end
speculations about his health. On 6 March 2007
he was flown to Germany for medical reasons,
further fomenting rumors about his health. His
spokesperson said this was due to stress and
quoted Yar'Adua as saying he was fine and
would soon be back to campaigning. Another
report, which was rejected by Yar'Adua's
spokesperson, claims that Yar'Adua collapsed
after suffering a possible heart attack.
Presidency
In the presidential election, held on 21 April
2007, Yar'Adua won with 70% of the vote (24.6
million votes) according to official results
released on 23 April. The election was highly
controversial. Strongly criticized by observers, as
well as the two primary opposition candidates,
Muhammadu Buhari of the All Nigeria Peoples
Party (ANPP) and Atiku Abubakar of the Action
Congress (AC), its results were largely rejected
as having been rigged in Yar'Adua's favour.
After the election, Yar'Adua proposed a
government of national unity. In late June 2007,
two opposition parties, the ANPP and the
Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA), agreed to
join Yar'Adua's government.On 28 June 2007,
Yar'Adua publicly revealed his declaration of
assets from May (becoming the first Nigerian
Leader to do so), according to which he had
₦856,452,892 (US$5.8 million) in assets, ₦19
million ($0.1 million) of which belonged to his
wife. He also had ₦88,793,269.77 ($0.5 million)
in liabilities. This disclosure, which fulfilled a
pre-election promise he made, was intended to
set an example for other Nigerian politicians and
discourage corruption.
Yar'Adua's new cabinet was sworn in on 26 July
2007. It included 39 ministers, including two for
the ANPP.
Buhari and Abubakar filed petitions to have the
results of the 2007 presidential election
invalidated due to alleged fraud, but on 26
February 2008 a court rejected the petitions.
Buhari and Abubakar said that they would
appeal to the Supreme Court. Marred by
corruption, many argued that this election was
rigged by Obasanjo as well, as he wanted his
successor to have the same basic ideals that he
possessed as President.
Illness and Death
President Yar'Adua left Nigeria on 23 November
2009, and was reported to be receiving
treatment for pericarditis at a clinic in Saudi
Arabia. He was not seen in public again, and his
absence created a dangerous power vacuum in
Nigeria.
In December 2009 Oluwarotimi Odunayo
Akeredolu, president of the Nigerian Bar
Association (NBA), stated that Yar'Adua should
have handed over power to Vice-President
Goodluck Jonathan in an acting capacity during
his illness, a statement that was backed up by
the NBA national executive committee. On 22
January 2010, the Supreme Court of Nigeria
ruled that the Federal Executive Council (FEC)
had fourteen days to decide a resolution on
whether Yar'Adua was "incapable of discharging
the functions of his office". The ruling also
stated that the Federal Executive Council should
hear testimony of five doctors, one of whom
should be Yar'Adua's personal physician.
On 9 February 2010, the Senate controversially
used the "doctrine of necessity" to transfer
Presidential Powers to Vice President Goodluck
Jonathan, and declared him Acting President,
with all the accompanying powers, until
Yar'Adua returned to full health. The power
transfer, considered illegal by some, has been
called a "coup without the word" by opposition
lawyers and lawmakers. However, there are
others that felt the power vacuum would lead to
instability and a possible military takeover.
On 24 February 2010, Yar'Adua returned to
Abuja. His state of health was unclear, but there
was speculation that he was still on a life
support machine. Various political and religious
figures in Nigeria had visited him during his
illness saying he would make a recovery.
Yar'Adua died on 5 May at the Aso Rock
Presidential Villa. An Islamic burial took place on
6 May in his hometown in Katsina
Reactions
The Federal Government of Nigeria declared a
seven-day mourning period. Acting President
Goodluck Jonathan said "Nigeria has lost the
jewel on its crown and even the heavens mourn
with our nation tonight. As individuals and as a
nation we prayed for the recovery of Mr
President. But we take solace in the fact that the
Almighty is the giver and taker of all life."
US President Barack Obama offered condolences,
stating: "He was committed to creating lasting
peace and prosperity within Nigeria's own
borders, and continuing that work will be an
important part of honoring his legacy."
Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, in his
tribute, wrote, “What passes for the Nigerian
nation is nothing more than a tragic arena, and
Yar‘Adua is only the latest tragic figure. The
vampires, including those within his own family,
turned him into a mere inert resource for their
diabolical schemes. They have a reckoning with
their conscience, assuming they know what the
word means. One can only hope that, while
mouthing sanctimonious platitudes such as
‘Power belongs to God,’ they have now learned
that the politics of Do-or-Die cannot guarantee
who does and who dies. They must stop playing
God. I pray for the repose of the soul of their
latest, much abused innocent victim.
Source
May his gentle soul rest in perfect peace!
Umaru Musa Yar'Adua (16 August 1951 –
5 May 2010) was the President of Nigeria
and the 13th Head of State. He served as
governor of Katsina State in northern
Nigeria from 29 May 1999 to 28 May
2007. He was declared the winner of the
controversial Nigerian presidential
election held on 21 April 2007, and was
sworn in on 29 May 2007. He was a
member of the ruling People's Democratic
Party (PDP). In 2009, Yar'Adua left for
Saudi Arabia to receive treatment for
pericarditis. He returned to Nigeria in
2010, where he died on 5 May.

Nonsense..... Nobody should quote me

May his soul RIP. I have a feeling our power sector would have been better were this man still in office.
Can't forget what he did for Cletus Ibeto and co by stopping Dangote's monopoly of the cement industry. Good man

The best president we never had

Lets hope we don't lose another soon, northerners would go nuts this time.