Unhealthy concerns

NIGERIANS have good reasons to be concerned about the health of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, who is off to Saudi Arabia for treatment again. His office said the visit was a routine follow-up check. We wish him quick recovery and return to his duties.

The concerns of Nigerians include the political health of the Presidency. For 17 days in 2008, Nigerians speculated about the whereabouts of their President with government officials offering conflicting accounts. Nobody was sure who was in-charge in those days.

Our Constitution succinctly provides in Section 145 that: “Whenever the President transmits to the President of Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives a written declaration that he is proceeding on vacation or that he is unable to discharge the functions of his office, until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary such functions shall be discharged by the Vice-President as Acting President.” The President dodges this provision by not informing the National Assembly in writing about his absences.

This is his fourth trip to Saudi Arabia in a little over a year. He had sought relief too in Germany.

His September visit to Saudi Arabia also marked his second straight absence from the UN General Assembly. Foreign Minister, Ojo Maduekwe led the country’s delegation, but Nigeria could not be represented at important bilateral meetings of only presidents and heads of government.

About 140 heads of state or government participated in debates on climate change, nuclear security and non-proliferation, and the global financial crisis. Last year, President Yar’Adua’s absence stalled a schedule meeting on the Bakassi Peninsula.

The UN Secretariat in a statement then stated: “In the light of the fact that the President of Nigeria, Mr. Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, will not be attending this year’s ordinary session of the General Assembly, the high-level meeting between the Secretary-General and Presidents Paul Biya and Umaru Yar’Adua, initially scheduled, will not take place as planned.”

The President is entitled to tend his health, just as he has to ensure the country runs properly while he is at it. The framers of our Constitution must have had such situations in mind when they came up with Section 145. Why does the President ignore it?

Would it have not been more appropriate if the Vice-President presented the budget to the National Assembly instead of the Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly Matters, Senator Mohammed Abba Aji?

For the first time since the return of democratic rule in 1999, the President failed to present the budget to the National Assembly. The row over protocols in the National Assembly delayed the President’s presentation of the budget to legislators. However, in his absence the role should have fallen on the Vice-President.

Concerns about the President are moving from his well-being to how the country works when he is unavailable.
The President must avail himself of every opportunity to adhere to the supremacy of the Constitution.