Kaduna group tasks N’Assembly on Yar’Adua, others urge prayers

Addressing a press conference in Kaduna at the weekend the leader of KCPP and Chairman of Labour Party in the state, Alhaji Umaru Mohammed, faulted the recent statement of the Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Michael Aondoakaa that Yar’Adua can govern from abroad. But he urged Nigerians to pray for Yar’Adua.

According to Mohammed: “What the Minister said did not make sense. There is no constitutional provision that empowers the President to govern Nigeria as a sovereign country from any foreign country.”

He went on: “It is wrong for the Minister of Justice to have said that Yar’adua can rule Nigeria from anywhere in the world when the country is not a personal property of an individual. It is Nigerians that voted Yar’adua to govern them within Nigeria and not foreigners. I think it is a joke.

It has never been established that a President ruled from anywhere outside his home country when the people are not in a state of crisis or war. The constitution is clear on the ill-health of Yar’adua and how long he can be allowed to remain in the hospital. The National Assembly should be at liberty now to take a position so that something is done such that the situation do not degenerate.”

“The President cannot be sick forever, the Constitution is clear on the timeframe and as to how long he can remain in hospital…needless to say that if the President of a country falls sick, the country literally also falls sick.”

Mohammed who also addressed the security situation in Kaduna State, saying: “It is disheartening to note that the outfit, Operation Yaki, set up by the state government to provide security for life and property has unfortunately turned against the people, as the behavior of members of the security outfit recently is anti-people”

Other areas where the policies of government were criticized by the opposition coalition group include education, health, road networks, agriculture and poverty alleviation.

Also, Former foreign Affairs minister, Chief Tom Ikimi has condemned as wicked the reported scheming by some members of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for replacement for Yar’Adua.

According to him, Yar’Adau’s party members should be praying for his quick recovery, but that the scheming was evidence that they were not comfortable with the due process disposition of the president.

Ikimi spoke at the weekend in Irrua, headquarters of Esan central local council when over 5,000 members of the PDP including the state youth leader, Chief Francis Inegbeneki, former national women leader Herberta Okonofua and their followers defected to the AC.

“We pray for the President because he has been good to Edo state, because if he was not the one there as President, there is no way we would have won back our mandate. We won that mandate because he gave freedom to the judiciary to give us justice so why will we wish such a man ill. It has nothing to do with the PDP, the PDP is a dying party,” Ikimi stated.

“We have heard that the PDP is struggling for a successor, the man is still alive that is absolute nonsense. When the time comes we in Edo state will take the right decision because we are watching what is going on. We shall take our people to the right path. Yar’Adua is a good man, a ,man that believes in due process but unfortunately, the PDP does not want due process. But know that God will heal him to come back and continue his good work.”

He attributed the mass defection of members of the PDP to AC to the alleged dictatorial disposition of former PDP Board of Trustees (BoT) chairman, Chief Tony Anenih. He claimed that as a democratic, he (Ikimi) does not have the power to singlehandedly decide who occupies any political position in his council.

“The people of Edo state want democracy and that is why you notice that the PDP is dead in Edo State and Nigeria as a whole” he added.