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Yayale may become VP By Emeka MAMAH, Kaduna Saturday, February 6, 2010
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Alhaji Yayale Ahmed may be appointed Vice President anytime President Umaru Yar’Adua submits his letter of resignation to the National Assembly in view of his incapacitation due to ill health at Saudi Arabia where he has been in hospital for over two months now.
Sources told Saturday Vanguard that the lobby group working for Yayale’s emergence in both the National Assembly and the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) believe that Yayale has got both the experience and personal integrity to occupy the number two position in the country.
This is even as the National Assembly has concluded plans to amend the constitution to make it an impeachable offence for a serving governor or President to travel outside the country or his state for two weeks without handing over power to either the Vice President or Deputy Governor.
The group, which includes some northern governors, is said to have rejected names submitted to it from the Northwest geo-political zone of the country for the position, citing the long list of people who have occupied the presidency from the area.
Those who have been president from the northwest include late General Murtala Mohammed, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, Alhaji Shehu Shagari, late General Sani Abacha , and the current President, Alhaji Yar’Adua, who has been in a Saudi Arabian hospital for over nine weeks now.
It was learnt that the group was not comfortable with the current political logjam over the inability of the Yar’Adua to hand over power to the Vice President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan in spite of the fact that he cannot perform his normal functions as President.
They are however, blaming some few northerners and south-south people like Yar’Adua’s wife, Turair , ministers of finance and agriculture, the former governor of Delta State, Chief James Ibori, a business mogul, Alhaji Mangal and Governor Bukola Saraki of Kwara state as those who are said to be opposed to the handing over power to Dr. Jonathan on acting capacity pending when Yar’Adua
At the Senate arm of the National Assembly , the sources said that most members are now in favour of Yar’Adua’s outright resignation, having realized that they been all the while, deceived on magnitude of the complications of the president’s health challenge.
The situation is however said to be different in the House of Representatives as the Speaker, Hon. Dimeji Bankole is said to be supporting the President’s men because of the fear of losing his position, if the Speakership was re-zoned to another geo-political area when Jonathan takes over as a President from Bayelsa state which is in the south.
Bankole’s fears over his position is coming against the backdrop of his quarrel with some PDP bigwigs in his home area of the southwest including former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Governor Gbenga Daniel of Ogun state.
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