What is your take on President Umaru Yar’Adua’s absence for 93 days?
Well, I have already made my views public on the issue on my column; essentially it’s irresponsible it’s unfortunate the way the entire matter was handled by the Presidency because the Constitution is very clear on what ought to happen in the event of Mr. President going away on medical vacation or medical treatment. Of course, he was medically evacuated, and in that kind of a situation there must be an instrument transmitted. In the first place, he did not transmit the instrument so even if it was an oversight or he couldn’t do it because of the situation at the moment; once he stepped into Saudi Arabia this thing should have been done and why it was not done was a display of bad faith and an undemocratic desire to hang on to power at all cost. Secondly, it also indicated a certain privatisation of the office of the President. In a democracy and in a Presidential system, the office of the President is the most important of public offices, this is why you must know where the President
