The death of former President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua has been announced four times before now but he remains alive!

Yar'Adua may well be his way to finding a place in the Guiness Book of World Records as no other sitting President in the history of the world has had his death three times while he was still alive.

In December 2006, Yar'Adua was chosen as the presidential candidate of the ruling PDP for the April 2007 election, receiving 3,024 votes from party delegates; his closest rival, Rochas Okorocha, received 372 votes.

Yar'Adua's success in the primary was attributed to the support of incumbent President Olusegun shortly after winning the nomination, Yar'Adua chose Goodluck Jonathan, then governor of Bayelsa State, as his vice-presidential candidate.

Another view of the support he received from President Obasanjo is that he is one of few serving governors with a spotless record, devoid of any suspicions or charges of corruption.

He also belongs to the People's Democratic Movement (PDM) - a powerful political block founded by his late brother, Shehu Musa Yar'Adua, who was also Obasanjo's vice president during his military rule.

In 2007, Yar'Adua, who suffered a kidney condition, challenged his critics to a game of squash in an endeavor to end speculations about his health.

On March 6,  2007 he was flown to Germany for medical reasons, further fomenting rumors about his health. His spokesperson said this was due to stress and quoted Yar'Adua as saying he was fine and would soon be back to campaigning.

Another report, which was rejected by Yar'Adua's spokesperson, claims that Yar'Adua collapsed after suffering a possible heart attack.

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