Nigeria is at risk of a full-blown constitutional crisis as unease over the absence of more than six weeks of its ailing president reaches fever pitch.
Buffeted by coups and corruption in their 50 years of independence, Nigerians have grown accustomed to upheaval.
But the prospect of legal battles, threats of renewed attacks on the oil industry and continued fallout from a young Nigerian’s alleged attempt to blow up a transatlantic jet on Christmas day have generated pervasive tension.
Little has been revealed about the health of Umaru Yar’Adua, the 58-year-old president elected in 2007’s flawed polls, since late November when he was rushed to a Saudi Arabian hospital suffering from what his doctor said was an inflammation around the heart.
The ailing leader also has a chronic kidney complaint and has repeatedly sought treatment abroad.
“It will snowball out of our control if we don’t take measures now,” said Rotimi Akeredolu, president of the Nigerian Bar Association, whose lawsuit calling for the temporary transfer of presidential powers to Goodluck Jonathan, vice-president, could be heard as early as next Thursday.
“If it is not resolved by next week we may have to be more insistent on compliance with the constitution.”
Other similar legal challenges are pending but senior officials maintain nothing is constitutionally amiss.
The cabinet, which could ask the president to submit to medical examinations to ascertain whether he is well enough to serve, has declined to do so, prompting allegations that Mr Yar’Adua’s allies prefer the current unease to any threat to their control.
Difficult to govern at the best of times, Africa’s most populous nation and leading energy producer now appears rudderless in choppy waters.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Nigeria constitutional crisis looms
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment