Leadership (Abuja) |March 1, 2010 | Iyobosa Uwugiaren

Abuja — New facts emerged last night how ailing President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua was hurriedly loaded into a Saudi Arabian air ambulance on stretcher back home, in the early hours of yesterday amidst heavy security.

LEADERSHIP gathered from diplomatic circles on February 23rd that the US authorities had warned the Saudi government against “major international and diplomatic problems” in their continued efforts in preventing top Nigerian government officials from having access to their president.

“With comprehensive reports about the critical health condition of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, the US authorities advised the Saudi authorities to act quickly,” the source said.

“It was based on this useful advice that the doctors treating him decided to discharge him to hospice care.”

According to the Medline Plus – a service of the US National Library of Medicine and the National Institute of Health, “hospice care” is called “end-of-life care” – provided by health professionals and volunteers.

“They give medical, psychological and spiritual support. The goal of the care is to help people who are dying to have peace, comfort and dignity,” the health institute said.

“The caregivers try to control pain and other symptoms so a person can remain as alert and comfortable as possible. Hospice programmes also provide services to support a patient’s family.

“Usually, a hospice patient is expected to live six months or less. Hospice care can take place at home, hospice centre, hospital and in a skilled nursing facility.”

The source told LEADERSHIP that Yar’Adua had not been discharged from the ambulance that was used to evacuate him from the airport on his arrival yesterday.

Meanwhile, anger and jubilation yesterday trailed the return of Yar’Adua. While a few people in Katsina State – his home state, were said to have jubilated over his return, the Progressive People Alliance (PPA) expressed concern over the mystery surrounding his return.

According to the PPA Chairman, Mr. Larry Esin, “it remains a mystery why the president’s triumphant return should be shrouded in secrecy.”

“This question must be addressed immediately; the moment of truth is here!”, Esin said in a statement.

” If the ailing President is still not healthy enough to lead this country, then now is the time to do the right thing by resigning honourably in the interest of Nigeria,” he added.

Engineer Buba Galadima, a chieftain of All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) said that it was only yet another move at taking the country for a ride.

He said he was yet to see anyone who claims to have seen Yar’Adua during or after his return. He averred that any official decision credited to the president would remain a fraud unless he proves his presence by addressing the nation.

“Why would Yar’Adua come in like a contraband, if it was not a grand plan to continue covering up something,” he said.

In his comments, Senator Rufai Hanga, said he was glad Yar’Adua is back, but hopes he is fit enough to return to work.

Hanga, who is the National Chairman of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), said the seeming disagreement between functionaries of Yar’Adua and those of Jonathan prove that no one is really in control.

He said that, the nation is going solo, so, there was an urgent need for constitution to be followed strictly to save it from further degeneration.

On its part, the Conference of the Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP), said that the secrecy that shrouded the return of the president was a testimony to the fact that he could not continue to exercise executive powers as stipulated in Section 5 of the 1999 Constitution.

According to the National Publicity Secreatry of the CNPP, Osita Okechukwu, the handlers of the president should allow Nigerians see him and “join us in appealing to him to honourably resign and save the country from divided government and its attendant instability.”

“CNPP welcomes our dear president back to the country after 90 days and wishes him tremendous progress and speedy recovery; however in welcoming him back we wish to note that the secrecy that shrouded his packaged return is a prima facie evidence that President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua is incapable of exercising the executive powers stipulated in Section 5 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he said.

“We are yet to see any photograph of President Yar’Adua in any news media, whether local or foreign since his return. How come that the media were cordoned off from the precincts of his arrival? We demand to see our president.”

Meanwhile, the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Vincent Eze Ogbulafor, has welcomed the President back to Nigeria.

The PDP called on Nigerians to shelve party leanings and cooperate with him to realise the lofty programmes he had outlined for the country.

The party spokesman Prof Rufai Alkali, who stated this in a press release, however congratulated the acting president for holding forth the ship of governance while the president was away, scoring him distinction in the way he discharged the duties of state.

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