Jan 26 (GIN) – Nigeria’s cabinet has been ordered to decide within 14 days if the hospitalized President Umaru Yar'Adua is fit to lead the country.
President Yar’Adua has been in Saudi Arabia for two months, receiving treatment for a heart condition, but has not officially transferred power to any another official.
The order by the Federal High Court came in response to a law suit brought by opposition activist Farouk Adamu Aliyu who asked the judges to remove the president over his failing health and for failing to abide by the provisions of the constitution.
His lawyer Bamidele Aturu told the BBC that the judgement was a "victory for democracy". Yar’Adua’s predessor, Olusegun Obasanjo, also urged the national leader to step down.
"If you take up a job, elected... and then your health starts to fail you and you will not able to deliver, to satisfy yourself and satisfy the people you are supposed to serve, then there is a path of honour and path of morality," he said in his first comments on Mr Yar'Adua's health.
Mr Obasanjo handpicked Mr Yar'Adua to succeed him but the pair have since fallen out. He denied that he had been irresponsible when choosing his successor, AFP news agency reports.
On Thursday, more than 1,000 people gathered in Lagos to protest against Mr Yar'Adua's prolonged absence. Some carried signs saying: "Enough of the offshore president, and A people's constitution now."
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