Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua may seek the assistance of the United States in resolving the internal conflicts in the north and south of this West African nation. Hundreds were killed in the north during disturbances in July 2009.
Originally uploaded by Pan-African News Wire File Photos
From Chuks Okocha in Abuja, 12.08.2009
Nigeria ThisDay
The National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has summoned a meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party to discuss the health of President Umaru Yar’Adua, who is currently in hospital in Saudi Arabia.
Also, on the agenda of the NEC meeting expected to hold Thursday, December 10 at the National Secretariat of the party, Abuja include deliberations on the expected mid term convention by the first quarter of next year.
The party also called on the Inspector General of Police to investigate the outcome of the bye-election in Ondo State, where it accused the Labour Party of rigging the outcome of the Akoko Southeast/Akoko South west federal constituency polls.
According to a top source at the PDP National Secretariat, “the aim of the meeting is for the party to inform members of the NEC of the health of the President and urge members of the party to pray for the quick recovery of the President.”
“This NEC meeting is a follow up to the NWC special session where the NWC held a prayer session for the President. When some one is sick, the best you can offer to that person is to show empathy and prayers,” the source said.
Since the admission of the President in a Saudi hospital, there has been strident calls for his resignation, but both the party and the Federal Executive Council have opposed such calls, stating that there is no vacancy in the Presidential Villa as there is nothing to suggest that the President cannot perform his official duties.
But some politicians and civil society groups have called on the President to resign, claiming that the absence of the President has caused dislocations in the Nigerian economy.
Also the NEC meeting would be deliberating the proposal for a mid term expected to hold next year. The mid term convention would access the performance of the NWC and either passes a vote of confidence or no confidence.
Addressing a news conference in Abuja, the National Legal Adviser of PDP, Chief Olusola Oke said, “We demand that the Inspector General of Police set up a high powered probe to unravel the development that characterised the bye election in Ondo state.
“We demand that the AIG Abass who supervised the election in Ondo make public every development that occurred during the election with a view to setting the records straight,” he said.
The party National Legal Adviser said.
The PDP National Legal Adviser described the by election in Akoko Federal Constituency as a fraud accusing the deputy governor of Ondo state, Ali Olanusi of empowering the thugs that destroyed the election. He specifically accused one Col. Roland Omowa as being a master-mind the riggings of the election in favour of the Labour party.
Also Senator Gbenga Ogunniya denied that he was not arrested by the Police as alleged. According to him, “I was never arrested. There is no truth in the allegation that I was arrested. I was never interrogated or question by the Police. The footage of the stories carried by some television stations was manipulated. This is why we are calling on the Inspector General of Police to investigate the developments that took place in the Akoko Federal Constituency last week.”
Yar’Adua’s Family Threatens to Sue Media Houses
By Zacheaus Somorin, 12.08.2009
The family of President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua said yesterday that it would not hesitate to institute legal action against any media house that continues to report the president's health maliciously.
A statement signed by ''The President's Sister'' , Hajia Mairo Musa Yar'Adua, on behalf of the family said its attention has been drawn to ''the false, malicious and obviously sponsored media reports that suggested that the president's mother, Hajia Dada Habib Yar'Adua asked Mr President to resign from office on account of ill health.
The reports, according to Hajia Mairo insinuated that Hajia Yar’Adua is disagreeing with the President’s wife, Turai, whom the newspapers claimed was urging the President to sit tight, saying there was no time that the president's mother suggested so.
“To put the records straight, the President’s mother has never spoken to the media. She enjoys a cordial relationship with her daughter-in-law, Turai. The president’s mother contrary to media reports is supportive of Mr President’s foray into politics and has always encouraged him to render selfless service to the good people of Nigeria” the family said.
The family also said that instead of the media turning itself into malleable tools of ''blackmail by disgruntled politicians'' it should rather ''cross check facts before going to press” most especially at “this critical stage of the nation’s development.
Sequel to this, Hajia Mairo Yar’Adua has instructed all the media houses “responsible for these falsehoods to retract the misleading reports and apologize to the family or face legal action”.
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