Agriculture and Water Resources Minister, Dr. Sayyidi Abba Ruma, believed to be a key member of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s kitchen cabinet, yesterday slammed critics of the president’s continued stay abroad on medical grounds. He accused them of playing politics with the president’s health issue in order to gain advantage in the forthcoming 2011 general election. President Yar’Adua has been admitted at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia since November 23, 2009 after complaining of chest pains.

He was diagnosed with acute pericarditis, an inflammation of the membrane around the heart. But the failure of the president to follow the procedure in Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution by writing to the National Assembly and handing over to Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan has drawn the ire of many critics including G.53, which has continued to call on him to resign. Speaking with newsmen in Abuja, Ruma said there was evidence to the effect that those speculating that the nation is at a standstill because of the long absence of President Yar‘Ádua are doing so for selfish reasons. On the perceived failure of the president to hand over to Jonathan, Ruma who hails from the same state with Yar’Adua said it was wrong to suggest that things were not working the way they should, pointing out that such insinuations were the handiwork or those who allowed their emotions to becloud their reasoning. He said:

“The Minster of Information and Communication is in a better position but as a member of the Federal Executive Council having known that this issue has been addressed and made public, it is important to try to remove the emotion of the human mind especially as we are getting close to 2011 and there are indices that Nigerian politics is involved. “But we always believe that we must always try as much as possible to locate ourselves to the reality that means looking at the nation as more important than individual interest.” Ruma said the absence of President Yar’Ádua from the country on medical ground was not new as the nation had previously witnessed such incident during the military era. According to the minister, “there are developments that have taken place in Nigeria that are factual, on record and are obtainable. The most important thing is that I will advise that let us as much as possible remove the whims and caprices of our emotions for the public good. “Let us not hold the Nigerian public to ransom; let us not continue to deceive them but educate and enlighten them because we have the opportunity with information at our door step today.

“What you are asking is not really strange but it is something that has a lot of information available on ground and it has been so repeatedly made public. I cannot understand why the whims and caprices of our emotions should not be detached from the public good. “There is no way we can advance unless our individual selfish requirements are divorced from the reality. All issues that have been raised are not correct. I am just corroborating what the Minister of Information has said. The Federal Executive Council has sufficiently made that public and references have been made also to situations like this.” Ruma said further: “A President of Nigeria was sick at one time although during the military era and had to seek medical attention for about three months. Where were you? It is not too long ago. Where were you? The information is also at your door step. What has happened? “It is not also sufficiently correct to say that things are at a standstill.

You cannot provide evidence to that effect. “I think it is high time we realised that Nigerians should be fed with what should be proactive to our democracy and what would be good for the country.” On the report of the House of Representatives Committee on Procurement which indicted the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources for allegedly exceeding its budget for 2009 by over N23 billion without recourse to the National Assembly, Ruma said it not “sufficiently correct.” He said what was provided in the Appropriation Act was not the total amount of money required in many of the projects which have been at different implementation stages over the years, adding that projects were provided for in the medium term sector target so that they could be “re-presented” every year for appropriation so that they could be completed within the procurement lifespan.

The guy needs to have his head examined. NOTHING he said made any sense. Hopeless