By OKEY NDIRIBE
ABUJA— Eulogies were yesterday showered on the late President Umar Yar’Adua for his broad-mindedness and statesmanship while in office.

The encomiums were showered on the former Nigerian leader at the presentation of a book-  Power, politics and Death, written about his administration  by his former Special Adviser on Media,  Mr Segun Adeniyi.

Speaking on the occasion, the governor of Edo State,  Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, revealed that the late President supported him both financially and morally when he contested the governorship election in Edo State in 2007, adding that even when the poll was rigged and a wrong result announced, Yar’Adua still encouraged him to seek justice in the court.

He further revealed that the late President rose above narrow party considerations when he approved that he (Oshiomhole) should appoint some members into vacant positions in the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, although he was not a member of the ruling PDP.

He said: “Against the wish of his party members in Edo State, he insisted that only I, as a governor, was in the best position to nominate indigenes of the state into the board of NDDC.”

The Edo governor then posed some questions on what truly happened during the last days of the late President and challenged those who were around him to respond to the rumours which made the rounds then, that Yar’Adua wrote his handover note to his then deputy, President Goodluck Jonathan, but the note was hidden by his aides.

He also raised the issue of the cabal which opposed Jonathan’s assumption of office as president even after it had become clear that the late Yar’Adua had become incapacitated and therefore unfit to rule.

Said he: “We need to know those godfathers who prevented President Jonathan from assuming office because the nation passed through a very dangerous period at that time”.

Corroborating Oshiomhole’s experience with the late  Yar’Adua’s administration, Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi, said that when he protested against the deployment of troops to his state during the re-run governorship election in 2009, the Federal Government responded by refraining from doing so thereby preventing his opponent who he suspected planned to use them to rig the poll from doing so.

Responding to an earlier remark that Nigerians were not sympathetic to the late President’s health status by the author of the book Mr  Adeniyi, Fayemi disagreed with the view saying that what irked the people was the mismanagement of information concerning his illness.

He also gave an insight into why the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, NGF, endorsed the planned  removal of petroleum subsidy from next January.

In his review of the book, newspaper Columnist Mohammed Haruna stated that Adeniyi’s account of what transpired in the Presidential Villa while he served was authoritative as his position then was the equivalent to a Minister adding that his book was not an abuse of privilege.

He commended Adeniyi for writing the book early while happenings during  the tenure of the late President was still fresh in the minds of Nigerians.

Narrating what Adeniyi regarded as President major achievements while in office, including Yar’Adua’s total respect for the rule of law as  demonstrated in his administration’s enforcement of the Supreme Court  judgement which awarded victory to the All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, Governorship candidate in Anambra State, Mr Peter Obi, Adeniyi  Mohammed cited how the late President complied with the judgement of the Supreme Court by releasing over N10 billion belonging to the Lagos State Local Council but which was withheld  by former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Adeniyi also said one of his boss’ failings was retaining former Attorney-General of the Federation Mr Michael Aondoakaa despite his links with  the former Governor of Delta State, James Ibori,who was being investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC,over alleged  corrupt practices.

Among dignitaries at the event were former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Alhaji Yayale Ahmed, former Minister of Education and one time Governor of Ebonyi State, Dr. Sam Egwu; former Minister of Defence, Gen. Godwin Abbe; Ambassador Shehu Malami and Senator Ibrahim Idah.