The web of secrecy woven around ailing President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua might have been thicker than many Nigerians envisaged and dated far back than now as it has been revealed that First Lady, Hajia Turai Yar’Adua even barred highly favoured individuals, including the Chairman of the Governors’ Forum, Dr. Bukola Saraki together with a governor–in-law, Isa Yuguda of Bauchi and Katsina State governor, Ibrahim Shema from seeing him when they visited Jeddah late November, 2009. A highly placed source revealed that the First Lady just refused to bend the rules in favour of anybody to stave off any attempt to exploit the situation on ground to the detriment of the family. The tension generated by the sudden movement of the president to the Arabian country and his condition, even in those early days were said to have made the first family to decide on strigent measures to keep away prying eyes at bay. According to the source, " Even those governors who rushed to Saudi Arabia with the intention to see Mr. President were barred by the First Lady from seeing him. It could have been because of the state of the president, which then was considered pretty frightening and she did not want to expose it for anybody to use the condition of the president against him." Besides, the source revealed that part of the reasons the First Lady acted the way she did was because of a conspiracy theory even within the inner caucus to the effect that she had gotten wind of the immediate actions of some political figures back home in the first four days of the president’s departure to Saudi Arabia. "You will not believe this, but she was actually warned to be wary of visitors from Nigeria, especially political figures, irrespective of their position and status. And she did just that; whatever you heard after that was just part of the game to make people believe that we are the ones there and try to take credit for what they never did," the source revealed. Yar’Adua left for Saudi Arabia on Friday, November 23, 2009 for a medical check-up, having suffered acute pericarditis (inflammation of the covering of the heart) after a Jumat service. The President has since then been receiving treatment at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre in Jeddah. Saraki, the other governors and some members of the kitchen cabinet had left for Saudi Arabia to see the president in what was supposed to be a get-well visit and to have first hand information on the state of health of the President.
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