Nigeria’s Vice-president Goodluck Jonathan has been given presidential powers by the country’s top court, putting him in charge of Africa’s most populous nation. Thousands of Nigerians earlier protested in the streets of the capital, Abuja, at the continued absence of their president. President Yar’Adua has been under treatment in Saudi Arabia since November for a heart condition and had not spoken to the nation until he did a radio interview 12 January, in a feeble voice. He left without turning over his power to Jonathan. Jonathan, who has chaired government meetings, has been unable as deputy to sign legislation, including budget papers. The Times, UK, notes that “The judgment could have serious repercussions in Nigeria, which shook off decades of military rule only in 1999. It is an ethnically diverse country of 150 million people, roughly split between northern Muslims and southern Christians, which has been hit by sporadic outbursts of inter-communal violence.”
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News story, GenevaLunch, 14 January 2010.
Filed under: World news
Tags: Abuja, court, Goodluck Johnson, ill, Nigeria, president, Yar'Adua