Yar'Adua flown to S.Arabia

Details: Category: Politics; Published on Monday, 23 November 2009 22:25; Written by Admin; Hits: 2335

yaradua3 Umaru Yar'Adua has travelled to Saudi Arabia on Monday for an urgent medical treatment as his health drastically deteriorated.

He left Abuja today for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia with his personal physicians while his health which has worsened in the last three weeks reached a critical level over the week end. He was unable to attend the finals of the U-17 world cup held in Abuja a fortnight ago due to his poor health.

Yar'Adua has travelled to Saudi Arabia in the past for treatment for a chronic kidney problem, raising questions about whether he will be fit enough to stand for a second term in 2011 elections.

President’s spokesman Olusegun Adeniyi said Yar'Adua had forwarded copies of the 2010 budget, which he had been due to present to parliament last week, to the heads of the Senate and House of Representatives.

The presentation of the spending plans for sub-Saharan Africa's second-biggest economy was postponed because of a row between the two chambers of parliament over which one should host the event. This claim, according to Sahara Reporters, was contrived to hide the President’s state of health from the public.

Yar'Adua has had regular medical treatment in Germany and Saudi Arabia and his health was a source of concern even before he assumed the presidency.

He has not yet confirmed personally whether he plans to stand again in presidential election in 2011 but key figures in the ruling party have pledged their support if he decides to do so.