Date Published: 12/02/09

Yar'Adua cannot continue, Saudi doctors tell family

Musa Yar'Adua

Doctors have advised family members of the ailing President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua that the Nigerian President can no longer be exposed to the rigors of politics as he would require a close monitoring following his slow response to treatment.

This is barely after the Federal Executive Council, FEC, which held its weekly meeting in Abuja yesterday under the chairmanship of Vice President Goodluck Jonathan took a strong position, saying it would not invoke the provisions of section 144 of the 1999 Constitution as there was no justification whatsoever for such an action.

Section 144 (1) of the Nigerian constitution states that the president ceases to hold office if by a resolution passed by two-third majority of all the members of the executive council of the federation, the president or the vice-president is declared to be incapable of discharging his functions and that declaration is verified by a medical panel of five doctors including his personal physician.

However the Saudi doctors’ verdict, hinged on what a source described as a “serious decline in the President’s state of health,” came shortly after the President was released from the Intensive Care Unit of the King Faisal Specialist Hospital And Research center, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The President was in coma over the weekend and was immediately rushed to the Intensive care Unit, ICU. A source had disclosed to Pointblanknews.com that on Saturday particularly, President Yar’Adua was in and out of the ICU and was placed on life support equipment after he was alleged to have severally gone into coma.

A source and close ally of the Yar’Adua’s who has been in Jeddah since the President was hospitalized told Pointblanknews.com that the President’s family had sought Doctors opinion on whether the President would be fit soon to return to work but were shocked when the Doctors declared that President Yar’Adua would need to be giving close monitoring because of the stage his ailment has reached.

According to the source, even though doctors may have ruled out the possibility of the President dying from his ailment they advised that since president Yar’Adua cannot breath properly as a result of the fluid that the sac (Pericardium) collect between the heart, the President would need to stay monitored and out of any strenuous activities.

President Yar’Adua is suffering from “acute pericarditis,” a deadly ailment that result from Churg–Strauss syndrome. Pericarditis is inflammation of the pericardium, often with fluid accumulation. Pericarditis may be caused by many disorders such as infection, MI, trauma, tumors, and metabolic disorders.

According to the source who would not want to be named because he is not authorized to speak to the press, he said “well, like you know the President was out of the ICU and because of his condition, some members of his families wanted to know if he can return soon but the doctors advised that at the stage he is it is highly unlikely he continue because he would need monitoring.”

The source disclosed that the doctors are concerned that the President Yar’Adua’s “acute Pericarditis” has reached a stage where he may not be able to function properly with the responsibilities attached to the office of the President.

The source who pleaded severally not to be named added that the doctors who foreclosed any early return and early recovery for the President told members of the Yar’Adua’s family that the President would have to be kept away from any form of rigor.