Nigeria's ailing President Umaru Yar'Adua will write a letter handing power over to his vice-president, his adviser has told the BBC.

The letter, formally informing the Senate that Mr Yar'Adua is on "medical vacation", automatically means his deputy becomes acting president.

The president's allies have previously resisted calls for him to step aside.

He has been in a hospital in Saudi Arabia since November, prompting fears of a power vacuum and street protests.

The president is suffering from an inflammation of the lining around the heart and has long suffered from kidney problems.

Nigeria's powerful state governors have said they believe Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan should be acting president.

Cabinet split

The BBC's Caroline Duffield in Lagos says Nigeria's political struggle over the president's fitness to rule may be nearing an endgame.

The president's special adviser on legislative affairs, Abba Aji, did not say when Mr Yar'Adua would write the letter but he said there would be no "undue delay".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/8501301.stm

thread exists here: https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-393668.0.html