[b]THE place was Nicon Luxury Hotel in Abuja and the gladiators were two presidents: Senate President, David Mark and President, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Oluwarotimi Akeredolu SAN. And the bone of contention was the ailing and hospitalised President Umaru Yar’Adua.


Akeredolu and Mark went for each other’s jugular on Monday over whether or not the president should throw in the towel at the ceremony marking the Law Week of the Abuja branch of the NBA, with the former saying that the First Lady, Turai, and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) could not dictate to Nigerians on whether the president was fit to hang on or not.


Akeredolu added that despite the marital bond between Turai and her husband, only the doctors could determine if the president could continue in office, while telling the ruling party not to politicise the president’s health, but should advise him properly.


He noted that the lawyers’ body was not only asking Yar’Adua to step down but also to pay attention to his health, because he could not love the country more than his health.


According to him, “the prayer of the association is that the President should recover fast, return to his office and resign. No matter how you love your country, it should not be at the detriment of your health. It is not your party or your wife that will decide whether you are capable of handling state matters; it is only your doctors that can decide that.


“The bar is not asking the president not to come back and take his seat, but the right thing must be done.” Though Mark had spoken before Akeredolu, he had to beg the organisers for another chance at the podium to reply Akeredolu, and when the opportunity was availed him, he straightaway labelled Akeredolu and his ilk mischievous characters who should be ignored.


“Those calling on the president to resign are mischief makers. Nigeria is passing through a difficult time in her lifetime. The call for the president to resign is not necessary. People just want to cause confusion in the country,” Mark said.


Senator Mark said: “I feel very strongly about what is happening. Sycophants and praise singers have cashed in on the situation; we must condemn these acts. It is inhuman and unjust.


“They (mischief makers) deliberately sell dummies to newspapers. The following morning, they collect the newspapers and fly to Saudi Arabia to tell lies.” Mark said that the insinuations were totally mischievous and in bad fate, adding that he certainly did not hold such an ambition.


According to Mark, “This is the handiwork of fifth columnists who are bent on causing disaffection among individuals in government as well as the functionaries of government. It is wicked, mischievous, and unpatriotic and smacks of a grand plan to cause division in the system by those who have found a platform on the status of the health of President Yar’Adua.


“I am not aware of lawmakers holding nocturnal meetings anywhere to fashion out any solution in the face of eventuality. Neither is there any group canvassing a position for the President of the Senate, Senator Mark.


“For the avoidance of doubt, the President of the Senate, Senator Mark, has remained on the same page with President Yar’Adua; his family and our great party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and we shall not be distracted by rabblerousers.


“As a nation, we are passing through difficult times, no doubt about it. But it does not give room for mischief makers to cause more problems. Whichever faith one professes, all we need at the moment is continuous prayer for the nation and for our president.”


He stated that times like this called for genuine patriotism and commitment to nationhood and not mischief makers or sycophants who wanted to score cheap political points.


To him: “I sincerely advise those behind these ugly trends to desist. They should not mislead the nation. We need to see reasons and pray for Mr. President; we are all humans. I do not see the urgency for Mr. President to resign. I am sure he will return soon to continue his good work.”


The Senate president, who spoke on the theme “Good Governance and Democracy,” said that the 1999 Constitution would be amended to correct the grey areas inherent in it before the expiration of the present National Assembly.


In another development, Akeredolu had earlier at another function in Abuja condemned the idea of limiting the Freedom of Information concept to the media, saying that the bill should be for all Nigerians.


He was speaking at the first annual conference of the NBA Human Rights Institute in Abuja. According to him, “if the government is sincere about the rule of law in its dealings, it should have no problem passing the bill. A government that is committed to the rule of law, openness and anti-corruption must not oppose the Freedom of Information Bill.”


“It is a bill that will ensure that I and every other person will have access to information. It is for all of us here.” The NBA’s First Vice-President, Ikeazor Akaraiwe, who is the chairman of the institute, disclosed that the body had just received the new rules on instituting actions that border on Fundamental Human Rights, adding that the new effort of the Bar was to institutionalise human rights work within the NBA.


Former Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Muhammad Lawal Uwais, chaired the conference with the theme Human and Socio-Economic Rights in Nigeria: A case for Justiciability.”


Akeredolu, in his address, demanded for the release of the report of extra-judicial killings of Boko Haram leaders in Borno State as well as officials actions on the report of Justice Olasunmbo Goodluck on the Apo Six killing.


He added that the police in Nigeria lacked requisite knowledge to investigate crimes without torturing suspects, saying that “Investigations are not thorough in this country, what police do is to torture people to admit to crimes. On the fate of those on death row in Nigeria, Akeredolu accused the government of inconsistent policy by continually pleading with authorities in Saudi Arabia, Singapore and other countries for the release of Nigerians on death row while doing nothing over those that had been sentenced to death in Nigeria, asking rhetorically, “should they wait for eternity for their death penalty?”


Meanwhile, former Senate President, Chief Ken Nnamani, has blamed the current controversy surrounding the state of health of President Yar’Adua on his violation of the provision of section 145 of the 1999 Constitution, which requires the president to inform, in writing, the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives that he was going on vacation.


He also called on the president to address Nigerians through a video conference call in order to put to rest all speculations surrounding his condition.

According to the former Senate President, in a statement issued in Abuja on Monday by his Good Governance Group (3G), which was personally signed by him, the Nigerian press was fully charged with “unsubstantiated and very worrisome information,” which, he observed, was fuelled by communication gap.


“In the circumstance, the management of both the information and the circumstances surrounding the health of the president, and, by extension, efficient functioning of the executive arm of government, is becoming a source of disagreement, and, to that extent, a source of division in the country,” the statement read.


It added that “as an organisation that is committed to national development, founded on the establishment of truly democratic institutions and culture, it was its belief that the rising wave of speculation surrounding the state of health of President Yar’Adua is caused by his inability to transmit to the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, a written declaration that he is proceeding on vacation, as provided for by Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution.


“The increasing politici-sation of the president’s health condition, arising from the inherent gap due to his current absence from the country without complying with the enshrined constitutional process of authorising the vice-president to serve as the acting president of the country, as provided for by Section 145 of the constitution further sharpens divisions and encourages all manner of political permutations, including some contemplated unconstitutional, undemocratic and clearly desperate manipulative arrangements.


“The absence of any form of direct contact between Nigerians and President Yar’Adua is a major source of legitimacy for all the speculations and the contemplated unconstitutional permutations.”


Furthermore, Senator Nnamani observed that the response of Federal Executive Council (FEC), as stated by the Secretary of the Government of the Federation, Alhaji Ahmed Yayale, that “for issues that require president’s express approval, contacts are being made and such approvals do come” is disturbing. This, he said, confirmed the absence of legitimate presidential authority in the country.


The statement, therefore, noted that while it wished President Yar’Adua speedy recovery to enable him to resume work, “we call on the FEC to, as a matter of national importance, organise a video conference to enable the president to address Nigerians and rest all the speculations that have dominated public discussions in the country of recent.”


Meanwhile, the reported disagreement between Yar’Adua’s mother, Hajia Habib and his wife, Turai, over his ill health, has been denied by his sister, Hajia Mairo Yar’Adua, who described the report as “false and malicious.”


She denied the report in a statement made available to the Nigerian Tribune. Mairo said her mother did not call for Yar’Adua’s resignation, adding that the spirit of the president’s mother had been dampened since the report came out in the media.


“To put the records straight, the president’s mother has never spoken to the media. She enjoys a cordial relationship with her daughter-in-law, Turai. The president’s mother, contrary to media reports, is supportive of Yar’Adua’s foray into politics and has always encouraged him to render selfless service to the people of Nigeria,” she said.


She added that “it is, therefore, irresponsible for anybody to drag the president’s mother into the politics of the president’s health. What she expects from Nigerians is to pray for the quick recovery of her son.”
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