AMIDST rumours yesterday of the death of President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua in Saudi Arabia, former governor of Abia State, Oji Uzor Kalu told The Guardian what he called "the most authentic proof that the rumour is worse than a lie."

"How could a man I spoke to on December 31, 2009 could have died on December 10?"

According to him, "Mutawallen Katsina spoke to me. I know his voice. Hamza, his Special Assistant who was his ADC when he was Katsina State governor, facilitated the call. " I was in Lebanon. I called Hamza to ask after the President's health and he told me he wouldn't see him until about four hours later."

After that, said Kalu, "he indeed called me back and handed the phone to President Yar'Adua. His voice was low but we exchanged banters the way he and I would normally do."

According to the former Abia governor, the President may have been moved to one of the residential houses of the Saudi King from hospital to stave off pressures.

"But to say keeping him in-communicado means he is dead is stretching the imagination too far."

http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/news/article01//indexn2_html?pdate=120110&ptitle=Govt%20denies%20Yar'Adua's%20death,%20pressure%20mounts