The two houses of Nigeria's national assembly on Tuesday voted to force ailing President Umaru Yar'Adua hand over power to his deputy until he is well enough to return.

 
The votes to install Vice President Goodluck Jonathan as acting head-of-state sent a powerful political message to Yar'Adua's supporters but heightened political turmoil as no-one could say what legal force the move has.

The United States reaffirmed international worries over events in Africa's most populous country.

The president has been in hospital in Saudi Arabia since November 23 for treatment to a serious heart condition and critics say crucial government business is being left unattended.

 
A motion passed by the Senate said "Jonathan shall henceforth discharge the functions of the office of president, commander in chief of the armed forces of the federation, as acting president." In its resolution, the lower house of parliament said that in the interests of "peace, order and good government" the vice president "shall assume full presidential powers as acting president, pending the return of the president."

The Senate said Jonathan would cease to be acting president once Yar'Adua informs the assembly of his return from "medical vacation".

Jonathan received the backing of Nigeria's 36 state governors last Friday.

The next step should be for the chief justice to swear in the vice president. But the main opposition Action Congress (AC) said the votes were illegal. "What has happened today has taken Nigeria closer to the abyss, instead of bringing it back from the brink. All hell has broken loose," the AC said in a statement.

Constitutional lawyer Festus Keyamo commented: "What they have done amounts to a coup plot. It is a desperate decision by desperate politicians who were trying to save their face."

Another opposition coalition, the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP), said the votes were a first move to ending what it called "the constitutional crisis and power vacumm impasse".

Opposition leaders have accused the government of covering up the seriousness of the president's illness.
Part of the constitutional battle is the delicate regional balancing act in Nigeria. Yar'Adua is from the Muslim north and Jonathan from the Christian south of the country. The presidency has traditionally switched between the two sides with each election.

But the assembly votes increased pressure on the cabinet over its support for Yar'Adua after a High Court demand last month that ministers decide whether the president was fit to continue.

Information Minister Dora Akunyili, the government's spokeswoman, broke ranks with cabinet colleagues last week, calling on them to revoke their decision.

International concerns were highlighted by US Assistant Secretary of State for Africa Johnny Carson who stressed the "uncertainty" in Nigeria after a meeting with Vice President Jonathan.

"The Secretary of State (Hillary Clinton) wanted me to clearly convey that during this period of uncertainty we believe that it is very important that if indeed there is a transition of political power in Nigeria let it be done democratically," Carson told reporters.

The United States, Britain, France and the European Union expressed concern last month over the president's absence.

Nigeria's constitution demands that the vice president assume full executive powers when a president informs parliament of his absence from office.

Yar'Adua has not written to the legislature. However, the Senate said it based its decision on a January 12 BBC interview with the president saying he would return to work once his doctors cleared him.

The BBC interview was "irrefutable proof" that president is on medical vacation in line with the constitutional provision, said senate president David Mark.

"We have examined all options available to us and today rightly concluded it is necessary to take this stance to allow this country to move forward," said Mark.

The Federal High Court ruled in January that Jonathan could carry out the president's functions in his absence, but not become "acting president".

A delegation of lawmakers is to meet Yar'Adua in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday to determine his fitness.

source: AFP