Nigerians Urge President Umaru Yar’Adua To Step Down.
Nigerians urge Yar’Adua to step down
By Tom Burgis in Lagos
Published: December 2 2009 23:03 | Last updated: December 2 2009 23:03
Umaru Yar’Adua, Nigeria’s ailing president, faced mounting calls for his resignation on Wednesday, raising fears of a lengthy period of uncertainty for Africa’s biggest energy producer.
The 58-year-old president was rushed to hospital after complaining of severe chest pain 10 days ago, and was diagnosed with acute pericarditis, an inflammation around the heart, but was “responding remarkably well”, his doctor said.
A statement by 56 prominent Nigerians demanding that Mr Yar’Adua hand over power to his deputy dominated the front pages of local newspapers on Tuesday.
But Michael Aondoakaa, justice minister, told reporters on Wednesday that the cabinet saw no basis to invoke a constitutional clause that could oblige the president to stand down on health grounds. An official close to the president said the resignation calls were ”hysterical”.
The statement’s signatories included activists and opposition figures but also heavyweights from the ruling party including Ken Nnamani, a former senate president, and Aminu Bello Masari, a former speaker of the house of representatives.
“He is not able to run the country the way it should be run,” said Annkio Briggs, an activist from the oil-producing Niger Delta region.
“He doesn’t want to admit how precarious his condition is,” said Nasir el-Rufai, a former minister who has clashed with the Yar’Adua administration and also signed the statement. “This kind of power vacuum is very dangerous in a young democracy.” Mr el-rufai faces corruption allegations which he says are politically motivated.
Mr Yar’Adua’s latest bout of ill-health has raised fears that his presidency will be dominated by jockeying for the succession before elections in 2011.
The infighting could spur a recent drive to unite disparate opposition groups, said Usman Bugaje, national secretary of the opposition Action Congress, and might “force a weak and divided [ruling People’s Democratic party] to leave more room for a free and fair election”.
Nigeria’s three elections since the return of civilian rule in 1999 have been marred by violence and rigging as the PDP established its near-monopoly on power, marshalling the patronage network that underpins Nigerian politics.
Ahead of the 2007 ballot, Olusegun Obasanjo plucked Mr Yar’Adua from relative obscurity to be his successor as his efforts to extend his own presidency past a two-term limit were foiled.
Mr Yar’Adua had been expected to run for a second mandate but repeated trips abroad for kidney treatment – coupled with the secrecy that surrounds his condition – have fuelled speculation that he may be forced out before concluding his first.
As vice president, Goodluck Jonathan would become the constitutional interim president for the rest of Mr Yar’Adua’s tenure should he step aside.
But an unwritten rule of Nigerian politics states that the presidency rotates between the mainly Muslim north, from where Mr Yar’Adua hails, and the predominantly Christian south.
The ascent of Mr Jonathan – like Mr Obasanjo, a southerner – might be unacceptable to the north. He is a native of the delta, a region whose demands for a greater share of oil wealth frequently set it at odds with the rest of Africa’s most populous nation.
Other Yar’Adua backers – including some former governors of Nigeria’s federal states who have seen corruption probes quashed on his watch – have much to lose if he resigns.
The PDP said Mr Yar’Adua would return home and resume his duties soon. If so, he will need all his strength to contain his fractious party, let alone deliver the basic services for which Nigerians have grown tired of waiting.
By Tom Burgis in Lagos
Published: December 2 2009 23:03 | Last updated: December 2 2009 23:03
Umaru Yar’Adua, Nigeria’s ailing president, faced mounting calls for his resignation on Wednesday, raising fears of a lengthy period of uncertainty for Africa’s biggest energy producer.
The 58-year-old president was rushed to hospital after complaining of severe chest pain 10 days ago, and was diagnosed with acute pericarditis, an inflammation around the heart, but was “responding remarkably well”, his doctor said.
A statement by 56 prominent Nigerians demanding that Mr Yar’Adua hand over power to his deputy dominated the front pages of local newspapers on Tuesday.
But Michael Aondoakaa, justice minister, told reporters on Wednesday that the cabinet saw no basis to invoke a constitutional clause that could oblige the president to stand down on health grounds. An official close to the president said the resignation calls were ”hysterical”.
The statement’s signatories included activists and opposition figures but also heavyweights from the ruling party including Ken Nnamani, a former senate president, and Aminu Bello Masari, a former speaker of the house of representatives.
“He is not able to run the country the way it should be run,” said Annkio Briggs, an activist from the oil-producing Niger Delta region.
“He doesn’t want to admit how precarious his condition is,” said Nasir el-Rufai, a former minister who has clashed with the Yar’Adua administration and also signed the statement. “This kind of power vacuum is very dangerous in a young democracy.” Mr el-rufai faces corruption allegations which he says are politically motivated.
Mr Yar’Adua’s latest bout of ill-health has raised fears that his presidency will be dominated by jockeying for the succession before elections in 2011.
The infighting could spur a recent drive to unite disparate opposition groups, said Usman Bugaje, national secretary of the opposition Action Congress, and might “force a weak and divided [ruling People’s Democratic party] to leave more room for a free and fair election”.
Nigeria’s three elections since the return of civilian rule in 1999 have been marred by violence and rigging as the PDP established its near-monopoly on power, marshalling the patronage network that underpins Nigerian politics.
Ahead of the 2007 ballot, Olusegun Obasanjo plucked Mr Yar’Adua from relative obscurity to be his successor as his efforts to extend his own presidency past a two-term limit were foiled.
Mr Yar’Adua had been expected to run for a second mandate but repeated trips abroad for kidney treatment – coupled with the secrecy that surrounds his condition – have fuelled speculation that he may be forced out before concluding his first.
As vice president, Goodluck Jonathan would become the constitutional interim president for the rest of Mr Yar’Adua’s tenure should he step aside.
But an unwritten rule of Nigerian politics states that the presidency rotates between the mainly Muslim north, from where Mr Yar’Adua hails, and the predominantly Christian south.
The ascent of Mr Jonathan – like Mr Obasanjo, a southerner – might be unacceptable to the north. He is a native of the delta, a region whose demands for a greater share of oil wealth frequently set it at odds with the rest of Africa’s most populous nation.
Other Yar’Adua backers – including some former governors of Nigeria’s federal states who have seen corruption probes quashed on his watch – have much to lose if he resigns.
The PDP said Mr Yar’Adua would return home and resume his duties soon. If so, he will need all his strength to contain his fractious party, let alone deliver the basic services for which Nigerians have grown tired of waiting.
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