Nigeria Senate calls on president to clarify absence

Nigeria’s Senate said on Wednesday President Umaru Yar’Adua, who has been in Saudi Arabia receiving medical treatment for two months, should formally notify Parliament about his absence in line with the Constitution.

Yar’Adua has been in a clinic in Jeddah since late November receiving treatment for a heart condition but has not formally transferred power to Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan, triggering debate over the legality of government decisions.

“The Senate urged the president ... to formally notify the National Assembly of his medical vacation pursuant to section 145 of the 1999 Constitution,” Senate president David Mark said, following two days of closed-door debate.

Article 145 states that whenever the president submits a written declaration that he is proceeding on vacation or otherwise unable to perform his duties, the vice-president takes over as acting president until he writes again to the contrary.—Reuters