Acting President



Feb 26 2010

Jonathan wasn’t summoned by First Lady, says PDP

By Yusuf Alli:

The Peoples Democratic Party yesterday said it has decided to back Dr. Goodluck Jonathan as acting President.

It also denied that Jonathan was purportedly summoned by the First Lady, Hajiya Turai Yar’Adua.

The party made its position known in a statement last night by its National Secretary, Abubakar Kawu Baraje, against the backdrop of the controversy over who is in charge of the country.

The statement said the party had consulted widely on the confusion in the Presidency and decided to endorse Jonathan as the Acting President.

The statement reads: “The PDP has been making consultations at various levels, including the Presidency, the National Assembly, the Governors’ Forum and had decided that Dr. Jonathan will continue to act as President while Alhaji Umar Yar’Adua recuperates.

“While we pray for full recovery of the President, we will like to thank the members of the National Assembly, the Governors’ Forum, Eminent Nigerians and Party Members for their support during this challenging political development.

“We urge the National Assembly, the Governors’ Forum and indeed all Nigerians to cooperate with the Acting President in the onerous task of piloting the affairs of the Nation at this crucial time.

“However, the PDP National Leadership hereby appeals to all its elected and appointed government functionaries not to make any statement on the presidency without clarification from the party leadership.”

On the purported summoning of the Acting President by the First Lady, Hajiya Turai Yar’Adua, the party said there was nothing like that.

It added: “The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, wishes to state in strong terms that contrary to the claims by some quarters and was reported in the media, the Acting President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan was at no time summoned for briefing on state matters by the first Lady, Hajia Turai Yar’Adua.

“The Acting President only visited his ailing boss who has just arrived from medical treatment in Saudi Arabia, as any normal person would do. It is then wrong for this visit to be misconstrued as a summon for the briefing of the Acting President.

“As Acting President, Dr. Jonathan does not need to take any briefing from any body as all the paraphernalia of office resides with him.”

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Feb 24 2010

President back after 93 days in Saudi Arabia

By Yusuf Alli

The President returned from Saudi Arabia this morning – 93 days after he left for medical reasons.

An air ambulance landed at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport at 1.46a.m., carrying President Umaru Yar’Adua. Then a presidential jet landed at 1.55a.m. It was carrying presidential aides and First Lady Turai Yar’Adua.

There was excitement on the faces of a small crowd of security personnel and reporters who kept vigil at the airport.

An ambulance moved towards the plane, swarmed by an army of security men. President Yar’Adua was set to board the ambulance for the journey to the Villa at about 2.04a.m.

Security was tight. The Guards Brigade was present. So was the Police Anti-Bomb Unit. People were barred from the tarmac.

The arrival and departure halls were cleared ahead of Yar’Adua’s arrival. Passengers were chased out.

Minister of Federal Capital Territory Adamu Aliero was seen at the airport.

The six-man Federal Government delegation to Saudi Arabia arrived in the kingdom to a friendly weather yesterday. But the mission of the elite team – seeing President Yar’Adua and the Saudi King – failed.

Reason: President Yar’Adua had been suddenly discharged from the King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Jeddah.

Yar’Adua had been in the hospital since November 23, last year for the treatment of acute pericarditis (inflammation of the heart’s covering).

His absence has led to a series of political activities, including the emergence of an Acting President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan – for the first time in the history of Nigeria.

The furore generated by the continued stay of the President in the hospital led to a debate in the Federal Executive Council on the invocation of Section 144.

But the debate suffered a setback last Wednesday as the FEC could only raise a six-man team for a get-well trip to Saudi Arabia.

Investigations by The Nation revealed that the FEC delegation could not see Yar’Adua, let alone meeting with him.

It was gathered that Yar’Adua was discharged at about the same time the FEC delegation arrived in Jeddah.

A member of the delegation, who spoke in confidence with our correspondent at about 6.30pm from Jeddah, said: “The fact is that the President has been discharged and we learnt that he is already heading for Nigeria.

“He is likely to arrive at home in the early hours of Wednesday. We have not met with him.

“As I am talking to you, we are also returning to Nigeria immediately.”

Findings revealed that the Presidency has also received intelligent report on Yar’Adua’s homecoming.

A source said: “There is anxiety in the Presidency because Yar’Adua’s return will change the political game. There is tension everywhere”.

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Feb 21 2010

Jonathan writes Saudi King on Yar’Adua

Acting President, Goodluck Jonathan, has written to the King of Saudi Arabia, Abdulla Bin Abdulaziz, over the state of affairs of ailing President Umaru Yar’Adua.

The letter, Sunday Punch gathered, is to be delivered to the king by the six-man Presidential investigative panel visiting Saudi Arabia to determine the fitness or otherwise of Yar’Adua.

A reliable source told our correspondent that the letter, besides thanking the Saudi Kingdom for his effort in taking care of Yar’Adua, is meant to make the monarch facilitate a parley between the visiting team and Yar‘Adua.

Our correspondent learnt also that the team would depart for Saudi Arabia midnight today.

The source added that the visit was a political one and that Nigerians should not expect any medical report about the president from the team.

However, the outcome of the visit, the source said, would determine the next step the Federal Executive Council would take on Yar’Adua.

The team is to depart with a presidential jet and it was learnt that each of the six man delegation is going with at least two of their aides.

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