₦airaland Forum

Turai Yar'Adua has bundled her gravely ill husband onto an air ambulance and the couple and a coterie of close aides were making their way back to Abuja last night, scheduled to arrive in the pre-dawn darkness, highly placed sources told us last night.

As the nation's capital was gripped in the anxiety and near panic induced by the news, a convoy of vehicles including a new Ford E-250 intensive care ambulance made its way from Aso Rock and arrived in a secluded area of the presidential wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, awaiting its fragile cargo.

As at the time of going to press, it was not clear if the aircraft had landed, or in which city it would land. The sources say the ambulance was accompanied by the Presidential jet and that the recent installation of additional life support machine at the Presidential Villa suggests that Mr. Yar'Adua will be taken directly to Abuja, although apparently the flight plans filed on departure also list Kano and Katsina.

The news of the President's arrival is reportedly causing a lot of anxiety in Abuja especially among politicians, many of whom had prepared themselves for a post Yar'Adua era. Speaking to NEXT on condition of anonymity a source said the timing of the President's return is suspect especially as he is still clearly ill and in no position to undertake such an arduous journey. "We face total political chaos and government paralysis," an influential retired general told NEXT.

It is being speculated that Mrs. Yar'Adua, who orchestrated the return, is fearful of acting president Goodluck Jonathan's growing stature and acceptance as de-facto president of the country.

It is still unclear if the intention of this sudden action is to regain the upper hand in a power game that has steadily slipped out of Mrs Yar'Adua's control in the last few weeks.

The final turning of the tide appeared to come on the 9th of February when the Senate and the House of Representatives, invoking a "Doctrine of Necessity", passed resolutions asking the Vice President to assume the position and title of Acting President of the country. The powerful Governors' Forum wasted no time in shifting their pro-Yar'Adua stance and assured Mr. Jonathan of their support.

The Acting President immediately took charge of the government, effecting a minor cabinet reshuffle. He was immediately elected Acting Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), to replace Mr. Yar'Adua.

In the last few days Mr. Jonathan has also garnered a groundswell of international support. Over the weekend he met separately with the former Presidents of America and Ghana, George Bush, and John Kuffour respectively, and the former Prime Minister of Britain, Tony Blair, who congratulated him and assured him of their support. The international community has in the last few weeks been vocal in expressing its concerns about the state of affairs in the country.

President Yar'Adua has been away from the country since the 23rd of November, 2009, when he was hurriedly flown to Saudi Arabia to seek medical attention. Days after his departure his personal physician revealed that the President had been diagnosed with pericarditis, an inflammation of the lining of the heart. That announcement, made through the President's spokesperson was the last information that would be revealed regarding the President's state of health, in all the time he has been away.

The three months since the President's departure have been marked by widening intrigues and campaigns of misinformation originating from the President's camp and aimed at concealing the actual state of his health, and obviating the need for a transfer of power to the Vice President. These schemes have been met with rising resistance from civil society groups, opposition parties and groups of influential politicians, including former heads of state.

On the 12th of January, two days after NEXT exclusively reported on the President's poor state of health, the British Broadcasting Corporation broadcast a telephone interview purported to have been conducted with the President.

Mr. Yar'Adua's return is coming barely twenty-four hours after Mr.Jonathan carried out his first official correspondence with the legislature, by sending a letter to the Senate requesting confirmation of his nominees for membership of the Code of Conduct Bureau.

Saudi: Ministers back without seeing Yar’Adua
Headlines Feb 24, 2010
The Ministerial team
*Meet with Saudi monarch in Riyadh
*Senators hail Jonathan’s first communication to them
By Adeleke Adeseri, News Editor, Emmanuel Aziken & Inalegwu Shaibu
LAGOS— THE ministerial team which left for Saudi Arabia, 12.15 a.m. yesterday, was billed to return to the country this morning, but they failed to meet President Umaru Yar’Adua just as the other delegations before them.
Information from Riyadh, capaital of Saudi Arabia as at press time, indicated that efforts being made by the ministers had not yielded any positive result. However, the ministers were able to meet the Saudi monarch, Abdullah Bin AbdulAziz, in Riyadh ‘to thank him’ as the Foreign Affairs Minister, Chief Ojo Maduekwe, reportedly said the team will do.

They are expected to return early today to brief the FEC meeting that will start by 10.00 a.m. The decision to send a FEC team to Saudi Arabia was taken at last Wednesday’s meeting of the cabinet.

The team comprises the Secretary to Government of the Federation, SGF, Alhaji Yayale Ahmed, Foreign Minister, Ojo Maduekwe, Health Minister, Prof. Babatunde Oshotimehin, Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Prince Adetokunbo Kayode, Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources, Dr. Abba Sayyadi Ruma, and Minister of Petroleum Resources, Rilwanu Lukman, who apparently did not join his colleagues because of the ongoing 10th Nigerian Oil and Gas Conference in Abuja.

Usually reliable sources told Vanguard that although the ministers had sought permission of the President’s doctors and the immediate family to see him, there was no clearance yet, as at the time of going to the press. Even their request for a possible video conference was equally turned down.

Jonathan drops Yar’Adua’s style

Meantime, the Acting President, Goodluck Jonathan, has adopted a formal approach in his executive communication with the Senate dropping the informal salutation adopted by President Umaru Yar‘Adua.

In his first executive communication which arrived the Senate, yesterday, Dr. Jonathan dropped the contentious salutation of “My Dear Brother” adopted in the past by President Yar`Adua. He rather chose the formal salutation of “Your Excellency.”

The Senate, through its spokesman, Senator Ayogu Eze hailed the communication from the Acting President saying that the Acting President has started exercising his powers and a vindication of the Senate’s resolution adopting Dr. Jonathan as Acting President.

President Yar’Adua’s adoption of the salutation “My Dear Brother” was criticized by some senators in the past who, during a debate on the issue, described the greeting as patronizing on the Senate[/b]
===========
Maybe my dear brothers in rigging and corruption