Jonathan unaware of Yar’Adua’s meeting with Imams
By Ihuoma Chiedozie, Abuja, Published: Saturday, 3 Apr 2010



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Acting President, Goodluck Jonathan


Acting President Dr. Goodluck Jonathan had no knowledge of President Yar‘Adua‘s reported meeting with some clerics, close friends and political associates in the Presidential Villa, Saturday Punch investigation has revealed.



Rather, our correspondent gathered that the Acting President got wind of the reported meeting from media reports.



There were reports on Friday that the ailing Yar‘Adua, who had not been seen in public since he took ill and was evacuated to Saudi Arabia on November 23 last year, met with some clerics, close friends and associates on Tuesday and on Thursday.



The Chief Imam of the Abuja National Mosque, Ustaz Musa Muhammed, was credited with the disclosure of Yar‘Adua‘s meeting with the delegation.



Those who reportedly had audience with Yar‘Adua included a businessman reputed to be one of his best friends, Alhaji Dahiru Manga; a member of the House of Representatives representing the Faskari Constituency, Alhaji Inuwa Shehu; and Bauchi State Governor, Mallam Isa Yuguda of Bauchi State, who is also his son-in-law.



Yar‘Adua was said to have met the above named individuals on Tuesday, March 30. Also, on Thursday, April 1, the President reportedly met with four Islamic clerics, namely, the Chief Imam of the Abuja National Mosque, Ustaz Musa Mohammed; leader of the Izala Muslim sect in Katsina State, Sheik Yakubu Musa; Sheikh Isa Pantami; and the President of the Supreme Council of Sharia in Nigeria (SCSN), Sheikh Ibrahim Datti Ahmed.



A British Broadcasting Corporation report quoted Ustaz Mohammed as saying that Yar‘Adua sat next to his wife, Turai. and shook hands with the clerics, but he could not talk.



However, a source in the Presidential Villa told our correspondent on Friday that Yar‘Adua‘s reported meeting with the concerned individuals was unknown to the Acting President.



”The Acting President was not aware of this development. It came to his attention through media reports”, the source said.



The source added that ”there was nothing wrong in the President deciding to meet with his spiritual counsellors and close friends, even if he is yet to see or be seen by his deputy, the Acting President.”



There were feelers in the Presidential Villa on Friday that the reported meeting was arranged by the Yar‘Adua camp as ”a sort of public confidence building measure to assure Nigerians that the President is in the Presidential Villa and recovering.”




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