February 16, 2010
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) headed by “Acting President” Goodluck Jonathan, ended its weekly meeting today with a "resolution" to send a six-man team composed mainly of ministers to look for Umaru Yar’Adua, Nigeria’s sickly leader who was evacuated to Saudi Arabia in a medical emergency on November 23 2009. Nobody in the government has set eyes on him since then.
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The delegation will be led by Yar’Adua’s crony, Abba Sayyad Ruma, who is the Minister of Agriculture; Rilwan Lukman, Minister of Petroleum Resources;Professor Babatunde Osotimehin, Minister of Health; Adetokunbo Kayode, Attorney General and Minister of Justice; Ojo Madueke, the Minister of Foreign Affairs; and Ahmed Yayale, the Secretary to the Federal Government.
Sources at today's meeting told Saharareporters that it was stormy, as some ministers wanted the FEC to declare YAr’adua incapacitated outright. They were met head-on by Yar'Adua loyalists who forced the meeting to adopt the resolution that would enable the team visit Jeddah to ascertain Yar’Adua’s condition and revert to the full FEC.
An after-session briefing by Dora Akunyili, the Minister of Information who lit a fire under the cabinet two weeks ago by introducing a memo challenging its position on the ailing leader, did not offer much, but she described the FEC as being the “closest” [institution] to Yar’Adua, which should be able to visit him in person.
This seems to be an allusion to the several delegations, including those of the Senate, the House of Representatives, Governors, that have made futile visits to Saudi Arabia. It is unclear how the delegation will succeed in meeting Yar'Adua face to face, but the FEC also resolved to send a letter to the King of Saudi Arabia Kingdom.
Said a political analyst today, "The FEC is playing an extended game, like the Nigeria Football Federation trying to hire top foreign coaches without getting in touch with them directly. This so-called resolution does not offer a sense of urgency, or seriousness or of protocol. If it had a sense of urgency, the delegation would be leaving tonight. If it had a sense of seriousness, this move would have been made before now, and certainly no later than last week. If it had a sense of protocol, the letter to the King would have been sent before the FEC announced the card it intends to play. This has all the makings of ritual, but also of potential embarrassment."
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The delegation will be led by Yar’Adua’s crony, Abba Sayyad Ruma, who is the Minister of Agriculture; Rilwan Lukman, Minister of Petroleum Resources;Professor Babatunde Osotimehin, Minister of Health; Adetokunbo Kayode, Attorney General and Minister of Justice; Ojo Madueke, the Minister of Foreign Affairs; and Ahmed Yayale, the Secretary to the Federal Government.
Sources at today's meeting told Saharareporters that it was stormy, as some ministers wanted the FEC to declare YAr’adua incapacitated outright. They were met head-on by Yar'Adua loyalists who forced the meeting to adopt the resolution that would enable the team visit Jeddah to ascertain Yar’Adua’s condition and revert to the full FEC.
An after-session briefing by Dora Akunyili, the Minister of Information who lit a fire under the cabinet two weeks ago by introducing a memo challenging its position on the ailing leader, did not offer much, but she described the FEC as being the “closest” [institution] to Yar’Adua, which should be able to visit him in person.
This seems to be an allusion to the several delegations, including those of the Senate, the House of Representatives, Governors, that have made futile visits to Saudi Arabia. It is unclear how the delegation will succeed in meeting Yar'Adua face to face, but the FEC also resolved to send a letter to the King of Saudi Arabia Kingdom.
Said a political analyst today, "The FEC is playing an extended game, like the Nigeria Football Federation trying to hire top foreign coaches without getting in touch with them directly. This so-called resolution does not offer a sense of urgency, or seriousness or of protocol. If it had a sense of urgency, the delegation would be leaving tonight. If it had a sense of seriousness, this move would have been made before now, and certainly no later than last week. If it had a sense of protocol, the letter to the King would have been sent before the FEC announced the card it intends to play. This has all the makings of ritual, but also of potential embarrassment."
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