09.02.10 Menas Associates
BBC News: Nigeria assembly votes for Yar'Adua power transfer
Both houses of Nigeria's National Assembly have passed a motion for sick
President Umaru Yar'Adua to hand power to his deputy until he recovers.
The BBC's Ahmed Idris in Abuja says the move among the political elite to back
the vice-president is unprecedented.
The ruling party alternates leadership between north and south, and Mr
Yar'Adua's northern backers wanted to keep his southern deputy out of office.
Mr Yar'Adua
has been in hospital in Saudi Arabia since last November. His absence has
sparked legal challenges, cabinet splits and mass protests.
It has led to a freeze in government business and threatened progress made in
combating unrest in the oil-rich Niger Delta.
Our correspondent says members of the Senate, House of Representatives and state
governors are usually loyal to the president, and the office of vice-president
carries little weight.
But the governors decided last week to back Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan
to
become acting president and have been lobbying for the assembly to do likewise.
The assembly carried the motion declaring that Mr Jonathan "shall
henceforth discharge the functions of the office of president,
commander-in-chief of the
armed forces of the federation, as acting president".
Senator leader David Mark made it clear that the power transfer was temporary.
The move appears to have staved off attempts by some senators to have Mr
Yar'Adua impeached for failing to inform the assembly in writing of his
"medical
vacation".
Mr Mark said that an interview Mr Yar'Adua carried out with the BBC's Hausa
service on 12 January had effectively provided the assembly with the notice it
needed.
"We came to the conclusion that the president, through his declaration
transmitted worldwide on the BBC, has furnished this parliament with
irrefutable
proof that he's on medical vacation in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia," said
Mr
Mark. However, some analysts have suggested that the assembly's motion is not
legally binding and could face court challenges.
Others say the move has laid down a challenge to the presidency and the cabinet
- due to meet on Wednesday - to accept the handover, or risk inflaming public
opinion.
The cabinet has previously insisted that the president is able to continue in
office, although splits subsequently emerged within ministerial ranks.
Mr Yar'Adua has not been seen in public since flying to Saudi Arabia for medical
treatment in November. He is suffering from an inflammation of the lining
around
the heart and has long suffered from kidney problems.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/africa/8505755.stm
Published: 2010/02/09 16:21:51 GMT
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