How Jonathan runs Nigeria • Power, Niger Delta, Electoral Reform top priorities (3-Point Agenda)

Acting President Goodluck Jonathan is set to confound political pundits and jobbers with a resolve not to contest next year’s presidential elections, associates of the Acting President have told Saturday Vanguard.

Jonathan, the first Acting President in the nation’s Fourth Republic, it has been learnt, is poised to leave a history that will differentiate his legacy from that of many of his predecessors after May 2011.

The Acting President, according to associates, has set power, Niger Delta and electoral reform at the top of a sub-set of an agenda derived from the seven point- agenda inherited from President Umaru Yar‘Adua.

Giving an insight into how Jonathan’s is running the country, one of his associates who spoke to Saturday Vanguard on the basis of confidentiality said:

”He is a highly consultative person and you need to see this in how he responded to the crisis in Jos. Besides the strict instructions to the security agencies to restore normalcy on the Plateau, he has also had many consultative meetings with Plateau stakeholders that have greatly helped in defusing the tension and reducing mutual suspicion among the people,” one source said of the meetings that were held without media exposure.

One notable effort by Jonathan in addressing the Jos crisis was his decision not to set up another panel of enquiry on the most recent crisis.

“He said that there were many panels of enquiry that were established in the past on crises in Jos since 1994 and he pledged that this would be the last one and one of his directives was that the reports by past panels should be implemented.”

It was thus not surprising that the reports of some of those panels are now being released, it was noted.

Also indicative of the direction of the Jonathan presidency, according to his associates, was his attitude towards the recent Anambra gubernatorial election and the re-run election for the Etsako Central Constituency seat in the Edo State House of Assembly.

Remarkably, Etsako Central is the home base of his Principal Private Secretary, Chief Mike Oghiadome, who served as deputy to Governor Lucky Igbinedion between 1999 and 2007.

“In both elections, he called the Inspector General of Police to ensure that there is no security incident and he vowed that the will of the people must prevail.”

“Etsako was indeed a test case for anyone watching the resoluteness of Jonathan as he did not mind the interest of Oghiadome.”

In both Etsako Central and Anambra, Jonathan’s dominant Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lost and without much security incidents.

His consultative approach it was learnt is, nevertheless, time stretching.

Jonathan, it was learnt, wakes up around 5 a.m. in the morning and between 6.30 a.m. and 7.00 a.m. he attends the daily morning devotion that holds in the chapel within his Akinola Aguda residence within the Presidential Villa. From there, he commences a daily routine of presidential activities that many times stretch up to 11.00 p.m. and sometimes when he takes files and memoranda home for further action.

Jonathan, according to one of his associates, is also determined to remain faithful to his boss, President Yar‘Adua in the belief that the more than two months stalemate that affected the governance of the country was deliberately stoked without the President’s knowledge.

In exonerating President Yar‘Adua, the associates point to the political background of the President’s family. “The Yar‘Adua family has paid its dues to Nigeria and have also paid the cost and don’t forget that the President’s elder brother died in prison on account of his inclination to democracy,” the associate said in reference to the suspicious death in Abakaliki prison of Gen. Shehu Musa Yar‘Adua, the former Army General who later became a thorn to the military dictatorship of Gen. Sani Abacha.

Noting the bond between Jonathan and President Yar‘Adua and how the kitchen cabinet repeatedly sought to damage that relationship, one insider disclosed how President Yar‘Adua gave Jonathan the task of filling board appointments in the nation’s parastatals.

That job, it was learnt, was subsequently subverted by some elements within the kitchen cabinet.

Besides, it was also disclosed that when President Yar‘Adua wanted to go on leave last year, that he wrote a letter to the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives informing them in fulfillment of section 145 of the constitution. That constitutional requirement was meant to transfer power to Jonathan as Acting President.

The letter, Saturday Vanguard was intercepted by elements within the kitchen cabinet who instructed the National Assembly Adviser, Senator Mohammed Abba Aji not to deliver it.

“Their argument was that Obasanjo didn’t do it. But they also said that it could set up a dangerous pattern that could cost the President much politically.”

”The President was told that the National Assembly could refuse to acknowledge his letter when he tells them that he is back,” one source privy to the development disclosed.

Remarkably, associates of then VP who spoke on condition of anonymity revealed Dr. Jonathan’s abiding loyalty to President Umaru Yar‘Adua, even as they absolved the ailing President from the perceived disdain poured on him by elements within the President’s kitchen cabinet.

Besides drawing a scene of efforts made by the kitchen cabinet to break the initial bond of comradeship that trailed and followed President Yar‘Adua and Dr. Jonathan in their first days in office, the associates disclosed how Dr. Jonathan bound his immediate staff not to talk on the issues of the President’s illness and the transmission of a letter to the National Assembly on his medical vacation.

Following the President’s medical evacuation and the brouhaha that followed, Dr. Jonathan it was learnt, instilled dread into his aides when he told them that their mobile telephones were being monitored and warned them not to discuss or insinuate anything that would bring disharmony within the presidency.

Besides his aides, the VP, it was learnt through one of his trusted aides, also mobilized political leaders from the South-South not to see the issues affecting the transmission or lack of transmission of a letter of medical vacation to the National Assembly as his issue or a South-South issue.

“Abiola’s mistake was that his June 12 mandate was reduced by some people from a national issue to a South West issue, and those around him learn't from and so when this issue started, the first thing he did was to help silent opinion leaders from the South-South.

”The issue of transmitting a letter or not is not a South-South issue. It is a national and constitutional issue which he, from the beginning, determined not to see as a personal issue or from the prism of a South-South issue,” a long standing associate of the Acting President confided.

How Jonathan runs Nigeria • Power, Niger Delta, Electoral Reform top priorities (3-Point Agenda)

Acting President Goodluck Jonathan is set to confound political pundits and jobbers with a resolve not to contest next year’s presidential elections, associates of the Acting President have told Saturday Vanguard.

Jonathan, the first Acting President in the nation’s Fourth Republic, it has been learnt, is poised to leave a history that will differentiate his legacy from that of many of his predecessors after May 2011.

The Acting President, according to associates, has set power, Niger Delta and electoral reform at the top of a sub-set of an agenda derived from the seven point- agenda inherited from President Umaru Yar‘Adua.

Giving an insight into how Jonathan’s is running the country, one of his associates who spoke to Saturday Vanguard on the basis of confidentiality said:

”He is a highly consultative person and you need to see this in how he responded to the crisis in Jos. Besides the strict instructions to the security agencies to restore normalcy on the Plateau, he has also had many consultative meetings with Plateau stakeholders that have greatly helped in defusing the tension and reducing mutual suspicion among the people,” one source said of the meetings that were held without media exposure.

One notable effort by Jonathan in addressing the Jos crisis was his decision not to set up another panel of enquiry on the most recent crisis.

“He said that there were many panels of enquiry that were established in the past on crises in Jos since 1994 and he pledged that this would be the last one and one of his directives was that the reports by past panels should be implemented.”

It was thus not surprising that the reports of some of those panels are now being released, it was noted.

Also indicative of the direction of the Jonathan presidency, according to his associates, was his attitude towards the recent Anambra gubernatorial election and the re-run election for the Etsako Central Constituency seat in the Edo State House of Assembly.

Remarkably, Etsako Central is the home base of his Principal Private Secretary, Chief Mike Oghiadome, who served as deputy to Governor Lucky Igbinedion between 1999 and 2007.

“In both elections, he called the Inspector General of Police to ensure that there is no security incident and he vowed that the will of the people must prevail.”

“Etsako was indeed a test case for anyone watching the resoluteness of Jonathan as he did not mind the interest of Oghiadome.”

In both Etsako Central and Anambra, Jonathan’s dominant Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lost and without much security incidents.

His consultative approach it was learnt is, nevertheless, time stretching.

Jonathan, it was learnt, wakes up around 5 a.m. in the morning and between 6.30 a.m. and 7.00 a.m. he attends the daily morning devotion that holds in the chapel within his Akinola Aguda residence within the Presidential Villa. From there, he commences a daily routine of presidential activities that many times stretch up to 11.00 p.m. and sometimes when he takes files and memoranda home for further action.

Jonathan, according to one of his associates, is also determined to remain faithful to his boss, President Yar‘Adua in the belief that the more than two months stalemate that affected the governance of the country was deliberately stoked without the President’s knowledge.

In exonerating President Yar‘Adua, the associates point to the political background of the President’s family. “The Yar‘Adua family has paid its dues to Nigeria and have also paid the cost and don’t forget that the President’s elder brother died in prison on account of his inclination to democracy,” the associate said in reference to the suspicious death in Abakaliki prison of Gen. Shehu Musa Yar‘Adua, the former Army General who later became a thorn to the military dictatorship of Gen. Sani Abacha.

Noting the bond between Jonathan and President Yar‘Adua and how the kitchen cabinet repeatedly sought to damage that relationship, one insider disclosed how President Yar‘Adua gave Jonathan the task of filling board appointments in the nation’s parastatals.

That job, it was learnt, was subsequently subverted by some elements within the kitchen cabinet.

Besides, it was also disclosed that when President Yar‘Adua wanted to go on leave last year, that he wrote a letter to the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives informing them in fulfillment of section 145 of the constitution. That constitutional requirement was meant to transfer power to Jonathan as Acting President.

The letter, Saturday Vanguard was intercepted by elements within the kitchen cabinet who instructed the National Assembly Adviser, Senator Mohammed Abba Aji not to deliver it.

“Their argument was that Obasanjo didn’t do it. But they also said that it could set up a dangerous pattern that could cost the President much politically.”

”The President was told that the National Assembly could refuse to acknowledge his letter when he tells them that he is back,” one source privy to the development disclosed.

Remarkably, associates of then VP who spoke on condition of anonymity revealed Dr. Jonathan’s abiding loyalty to President Umaru Yar‘Adua, even as they absolved the ailing President from the perceived disdain poured on him by elements within the President’s kitchen cabinet.

Besides drawing a scene of efforts made by the kitchen cabinet to break the initial bond of comradeship that trailed and followed President Yar‘Adua and Dr. Jonathan in their first days in office, the associates disclosed how Dr. Jonathan bound his immediate staff not to talk on the issues of the President’s illness and the transmission of a letter to the National Assembly on his medical vacation.

Following the President’s medical evacuation and the brouhaha that followed, Dr. Jonathan it was learnt, instilled dread into his aides when he told them that their mobile telephones were being monitored and warned them not to discuss or insinuate anything that would bring disharmony within the presidency.

Besides his aides, the VP, it was learn't through one of his trusted aides, also mobilized political leaders from the South-South not to see the issues affecting the transmission or lack of transmission of a letter of medical vacation to the National Assembly as his issue or a South-South issue.

“Abiola’s mistake was that his June 12 mandate was reduced by some people from a national issue to a South West issue, and those around him learnt from and so when this issue started, the first thing he did was to help silent opinion leaders from the South-South.

”The issue of transmitting a letter or not is not a South-South issue. It is a national and constitutional issue which he, from the beginning, determined not to see as a personal issue or from the prism of a South-South issue,” a long standing associate of the Acting President confided.

Nigeria's New President Chooses VP Candidate

Nigeria's new president has chosen his candidate for vice president from the country's largely Muslim north. Regional media reported that President Goodluck Jonathan tapped Kaduna State governor Namadi Sambo for the job after meeting Wednesday with Nigeria's governors at the president's villa in Abuja. The nomination of Mr. Sambo is expected to be forwarded to the Nigerian parliament Thursday for approval. Sambo, an architect, has worked in the public and private sector in Nigeria. He helped develop agriculture in Kaduna State as well as improve the water and electricity infrastructure in the region. President Jonathan was sworn in last week, hours after the death of his predecessor, Umaru Yar'Adua. Then the vice president, Mr. Jonathan had been acting president while Mr. Yar'Adua was incapacitated by a long illness. The choice of Sambo, a northern Muslim, brings back a religious and regional balance to the top office. Mr. Jonathan is a southern Christian. The ruling People's Democratic Party traditionally rotates the presidency between the mainly Christian south and the mainly Muslim north. The vice president has typically been chosen from the opposite background as the president. Questions remain over who will run as the PDP candidate in the next election, expected before April 2011. An aide to Mr. Jonathan has said he hopes the new president will run. But an election bid by Mr. Jonathan could stir controversy. Mr. Yar'Adua, a northerner and a Muslim, died only two-and-a-half years into what was expected to be a two-term, eight-year presidency. Some ruling party officials have said the next presidential candidate should be another northerner, and a number of Muslim candidates have said they may seek the nomination.

Biography of Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar'Adua

Early life

Yar'Adua was born into an aristocratic fulani family in kastina his father, a former Minister for Lagos during the First Republic, held the royal title of Mutawalli (custodian of the treasury) of the Katsina Emirate, a title which Yar'Adua inherited. He started his education at Rafukka Primary School in 1958, and moved to Dutsinma Boarding Primary School in 1962. He attended the Government College at Keffi from 1965 until 1969. In 1971 he received a Higher School Certificate from Barewa College. He attended Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria from 1972 to 1975, attaining a BSc in Education and Chemistry, and then returned in 1978 to achieve an M.Sc Degree in Analytical Chemistry.

Marriage and family

Yar'Adua married Turai Umaru Yar'Adua of Katsina in 1975 they had seven children (five daughters and two sons). Their daughter Zainab is married to Kebbi State governor Usman Saidu Nasamu Dakingari.Their daughter Nafisat is married to Bauchi State governor Isa Yuguda. Yar'Adua was married to Hauwa Umar Radda as a second wife from 1992 to 1997. They had two children.

Professional career

Yar'Adua's first employment was at Holy Child College in Lagos (1975–1976). He later served as a lecturer at the College of Arts, Science, and Technology in Zaria, Kaduna State, between 1976 and 1979. In 1979 he began working as a lecturer at College of Art Science, remaining in this position until 1983, when he began working in the corporate sector.

He worked at Sambo Farms Ltd. in Funtua, Katsina State as its pioneer General Manager between 1983 and 1989. He served as a Board Member, Katsina State Farmers' Supply Company between 1984 and 1985, Member Governing Council of Katsina College of Arts, Science and Technology Zaria and Katsina Polytechnic between 1978 and 1983, Board Chairman of Katsina State Investment and Property Development Company (KIPDECO) between 1994 and 1996. Yar'Adua served as a director of many companies, including Habib Nigeria Bank Ltd. 1995–1999; Lodigiani Nigeria Ltd. 1987–1999, Hamada Holdings, 1983–1999; and Madara Ltd. Vom, Jos, 1987–1999. He was Chairman, Nation House Press Ltd., Kaduna, from 1995 to 1999.

Early political career

During the Second Republic (1979–1983), Yar'Adua was a member of the leftist People's Redemption Party, while his father was briefly the National Vice chairman of the National Party of Nigeria. During the Transition Programme of President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, Yar'Adua was one of the foundation members of the Peoples Front, a political association under the leadership of his elder brother, the late Major-General Shehu Musa Yar'Adua. That association later fused to form the Social Democratic Party. Yar'Adua was a member of the 1988 Constituent Assembly. He was a member of the party's National Caucus and the SDP State Secretary in Katsina and contested the 1991 Governorship election, but lost to Saidu Barda, the candidate of the National Republican Convention and an ally of Babangida. In 1999, he ran for the same position and won.He was re-elected in 2003. He was the first governor to publicly declare his assets.

In 2000, during his administration as governor, Katsina became the fifth northern Nigerian state to adopt sharia, or Islamic law. In 2002 Amina Lawal, a woman from Katsina, was sentenced to death by stoning by a sharia court in the town of Bakori for committing adultery; the story attracted international attention. Her sentence was at first upheld by a court in the town of Funtua, then overturned a year later following an appeal.

Presidential nomination

Yar'Adua

On 16–17 December 2006, Yar'Adua was chosen as the presidential candidate of the ruling PDP for the April 2007 election, receiving 3,024 votes from party delegates; his closest rival, Rochas Okorocha, received 372 votes. Yar'Adua's success in the primary was attributed to the support of incumbent President Olusegun Obasanjo; At the time of his nomination he was an obscure figure on the national stage, and has been described as a "puppet" of Obasanjo who could not have won the nomination under fair circumstances. Shortly after winning the nomination, Yar'Adua chose Goodluck Jonathan, governor of Bayelsa State, as his vice-presidential candidate.

Another view of the support he received from President Obasanjo is that he was one of few serving governors with a spotless record, devoid of any suspicions or charges of corruption. He also belonged to the People's Democratic Movement (PDM) – a powerful political block founded by his late brother, Shehu Musa Yar'Adua, who was also Obasanjo's vice president during his military rule.

In 2007 Yar'Adua, who suffered from a kidney condition, challenged his critics to a game of squash in an endeavor to end speculations about his health. On 6 March 2007 he was flown to Germany for medical reasons, further fomenting rumors about his health. His spokesperson said this was due to stress and quoted Yar'Adua as saying he was fine and would soon be back to campaigning. Another report, which was rejected by Yar'Adua's spokesperson, claims that Yar'Adua collapsed after suffering a possible heart attack.

Presidency

Yar'Adua with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev whilst the latter was on a state visit to Nigeria on 24 June 2009.

In the presidential election, held on 21 April 2007, Yar'Adua won with 70% of the vote (24.6 million votes) according to official results released on 23 April. The election was highly controversial. Strongly criticized by observers, as well as the two primary opposition candidates, Muhammadu Buhari of the All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP) and Atiku Abubakar of the Action Congress (AC), its results were largely rejected as having been rigged in Yar'Adua's favor.

After the election, Yar'Adua proposed a government of national unity. In late June 2007, two opposition parties, the ANPP and the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA), agreed to join Yar'Adua's government.On 28 June 2007, Yar'Adua publicly revealed his declaration of assets from May (becoming the first Nigerian Leader to do so), according to which he had ₦856,452,892 (US$5.8 million) in assets, ₦19 million ($0.1 million) of which belonged to his wife. He also had ₦88,793,269.77 ($0.5 million) in liabilities. This disclosure, which fulfilled a pre-election promise he made, was intended to set an example for other Nigerian politicians and discourage corruption.

Yar'Adua's new cabinet was sworn in on 26 July 2007. It included 39 ministers, including two for the ANPP.

Buhari and Abubakar filed petitions to have the results of the 2007 presidential election invalidated due to alleged fraud, but on 26 February 2008 a court rejected the petitions. Buhari and Abubakar said that they would appeal to the Supreme Court. Marred by corruption, many argued that this election was rigged by Obasanjo as well, as he wanted his successor to have the same basic ideals that he possessed as President.

Illness and death

Ngeria Television Authority has related news: State television reports Nigerian presidenYar'Adua dead

President Yar'Adua left Nigeria on 23 November 2009, and was reported to be receiving treatment for pericarditis at a clinic in Saudi Arabia. He had not been seen in public since, and his absence created a dangerous power vacuum in Nigeria.

In December 2009 Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu, president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), stated that Yar'Adua should have handed over power to Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan in an acting capacity during his illness, a statement that was backed up by the NBA national executive committee. On 22 January 2010, the Supreme Court of Nigeria ruled that the Federal Ministries of Nigeria had 14 days to decide on a resolution about whether he "is incapable of discharging the functions of his office". The ruling also stated that the Federal Ministries should hear testimony of five doctors, one of whom should be Yar'Adua's personal physician.

On 9 February 2010, the Senate determined that presidential power be transferred to Vice President Goodluck Jonathan, and that he would serve as Acting President, with all the accompanied powers, until Yar'Adua returned to full health. The power transfer has been called a "coup without the word" by opposition lawyers and lawmakers. However, there are others that felt the power vacuum would lead to instability and a possible military takeover.

On 24 February 2010, Yar'Adua returned to Abuja. His state of health was unclear, but there was speculation that he was still on a life support machine. Various political and religious figures in Nigeria had visited him during his illness saying he would make a recovery.

Yar'Adua died on 5 May 2010 at the Aso Rock presidential villa. An Islamic burial took place on 6 May 2010 in his hometown.

Reactions

The Federal Government of Nigeria declared a seven-day mourning period. Acting President Goodluck Johnathan said "Nigeria has lost the jewel on its crown and even the heavens mourn with our nation tonight. As individuals and as a nation we prayed for the recovery of Mr President. But we take solace in the fact that the Almighty is the giver and taker of all life."

US President Barack Obama offered condolences, stating: "He was committed to creating lasting peace and prosperity within Nigeria's own borders, and continuing that work will be an important part of honoring his legacy."

Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, in his tribute, wrote, “What passes for the Nigerian nation is nothing more than a tragic arena, and Yar‘Adua is only the latest tragic figure. The vampires, including those within his own family, turned him into a mere inert resource for their diabolical schemes. They have a reckoning with their conscience, assuming they know what the word means. One can only hope that, while mouthing sanctimonious platitudes such as ‘Power belongs to God,’ they have now learnt that the politics of Do-or-Die cannot guarantee who does and who dies. They must stop playing God. I pray for the repose of the soul of their latest, much abused innocent victim."

Goodluck Jonathan sworn in as Nigeria's president

LAGOS, Nigeria – Nigeria's acting leader Goodluck Jonathan was sworn in Thursday as president of Africa's most populous country, as the body of his predecessor was flown north for a traditional Muslim burial hours after he died following a lengthy illness.

Jonathan put on a sash bearing the green, yellow and white colors of Nigeria, signifying he had formally taken over for President Umaru Yar'Adua though Jonathan had served as acting president for months.

Late Thursday morning, soldiers escorted a stretcher bearing the body of Yar'Adua, wrapped in a Nigerian flag, onto a military cargo plane bound for his native Katsina state.

Yar'Adua, who long had suffered from kidney ailments and was recently hospitalized in Saudi Arabia because of heart inflammation, died Wednesday night after apparently succumbing to his ill health. Officials said he would be buried before sundown Thursday.

Jonathan now will serve as president through next year's vote, likely to be held by April 2011. He also will be able to select a vice president to serve underneath him, subject to Senate approval.

In a brief address, Jonathan promised that his administration would focus on good governance during its short tenure, focusing especially on electoral reform and the fight against corruption.

"One of the true tests will be that all votes count and are counted in our upcoming presidential election," Jonathan said.

An unwritten power-sharing agreement within Nigeria's ruling party calls for the presidency to alternate between Nigeria's Christians and Muslims. Yar'Adua, a Muslim, was still in his first four-year term though — meaning there could be a political fight brewing in the ruling People's Democratic Party over allowing Jonathan to contest the presidency.

"Jonathan must be interested in contesting for the presidency, but he still has not revealed his hand and he's still pretty hesitant about signaling what his intentions are," said Mark Schroeder, the director of sub-Saharan Africa analysis for STRATFOR, a private security think tank based in Austin, Texas.

"Jonathan will certainly keep his hat in the ring and that will ensure he remains an influence within Nigeria's political system. Whether he has enough support (to run for president) ... that's another big question."

Yar'Adua's death came almost three months after Jonathan had assumed control of Nigeria as acting president and less than a year away from the next presidential elections in a country once plagued by military coups. Some Nigerians who awoke to the news of Yar'Adua's death were initially skeptical, as the masses remained uncertain about the ailing leader's condition for months.

Yet the streets in Lagos, the country's spiraling megacity in the south, remained quiet as Jonathan declared the day a public holiday and the start of a seven-day mourning period in the nation of 150 million people.

The oil-rich Niger Delta, which has seen militant attacks throughout the impoverished region since 2006, remained quiet as well, allowing foreign oil companies to pump out the crude in relative security.

Schroeder said Nigeria's political leaders knew they needed to quickly swear Jonathan in as president to show the world there was no power vacuum. When Yar'Adua went to a Saudi Arabian hospital on Nov. 24 to receive treatment, he failed to formally transfer his powers to Jonathan, sparking a constitutional crisis.

Jonathan assumed the presidency Feb. 9 after a vote by the National Assembly while Yar'Adua was still in Saudi Arabia.

"The U.S. wants political stability in Nigeria so that's there's stability in the oil sector," Schroeder said. Nigeria was the No. 4 oil exporter to the U.S. in February, sending about 896,000 million barrels of crude a day to the U.S., outstripping even Saudi Arabia.

Jonathan said Thursday that peace in the Niger Delta, home to the country's oil industry, remains a priority. Attacks by militants there last year crippled oil production. Yar'Adua had tried to peacefully end the insurgency but those efforts frayed due to his increasing illness.

Jonathan said Yar'Adua left a "profound legacy" for him to follow.

"He was not just a boss, but a good friend and a brother," Jonathan said.

Nigeria's situation stable after president's death

Just a few hours after Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua died in his official residence Wednesday night, Nigeria's Acting President Goodluck Jonathan summoned an emergency cabinet meeting at the Presidential Villa.

The meeting mainly discussed plans for Yar'Adua's funeral, among others, said Yayale Ahmed, secretary of the Government of the Federation.

According to the official, Yar'Adua's burial ceremony will be held at 2 p.m (1300 GMT) on Thursday to allow dignitaries and foreign Heads of Government to attend the ceremony in his home state Katsina.

Local observers believed that the death of Yar'Adua would not affect Nigeria's political and economic situation as the general situation in the West African country has been stable under the leadership of Jonathan who has been acting president since February this year.

Early Thursday, Jonathan declared a seven-day national mourning in memory of the late President Umaru Yar'Adua. During the seven days, the Nigerian national flag will fly at half mast.

"As a mark of respect for our departed leader, the Acting President has cancelled all official engagements," the acting president's spokesman Ima Niboro said in a statement.

Yar'Adua died at around 9 p.m. (2000 GMT) on Wednesday in his official residence in the Nigerian capital Abuja where he was recuperating from his protracted illness.

Acting President Jonathan described the death of the late President Yar'Adua as "sad, unfortunate and regrettable," said the statement.