Nigeria’s ill president Yar’Adua to “hand-over power” to VP, after 70 days of Nigerians pondering his whereabouts and constitutional succession questions

Special to USAfricaonline.com and Nigeria360 e-group

Lagos, Nigeria, Feb. 6 (UPI) — Ailing Nigerian President Umaru Yar’Adua will hand over power to his vice president, the BBC reported Saturday. The British broadcaster said the president’s special adviser on legislative affairs, Abba Aji, told the BBC that Yar’Adua would soon write a letter to the Senate saying he was on “medical vacation” and naming Vice President Goodluck Jonathan as acting president.

LAGOS, Nigeria, Feb. 6 (UPI) — Ailing Nigerian President Umaru Yar’Adua will hand over power to his vice president, the BBC reported Saturday.The British broadcaster said the president’s special adviser on legislative affairs, Abba Aji, told the BBC that Yar’Adua would soon write a letter to the Senate saying he was on “medical vacation” and naming Vice President Goodluck Jonathan as acting president.Aji didn’t give a precise time line on when the president would act, but indicated there would be no “undue delay.”The BBC said Yar’Adua is suffering from an inflammationof the lining around the heart as well as kidney problems. The president has been hospitalized in Saudi Arabia since November, and his long absence has sparked fears of a power vacuum and street protests.
Analysts have said a power vacuum was created when Yar’Adua failed to transfer powers to Jonathan before he left. False reports about his death and rumors of his medical condition have been rife in the country, the British broadcaster said.

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