Confusion in Yar'Adua's camp *Turai, cabal members disagree over planned resignation, overseas medical trip
CONFUSION is said to be reigning in the camp of ailing President Umaru Yar'Adua, following disagreements over the next step to take on the ailing leader.
Investigations by the Nigerian Tribune indicated that members of the cabal around the ailing leader have now abandoned the First Lady, Hajia Turai, in view of what was described as her intransigence in finding the way forward.
It was gathered that while some Northern leaders had recently joined the search for a practical solution to the Yar'Adua situation, as they were said to have reached out to the first lady and other members of the cabal, it was learnt that the first lady got many of the interested parties angry with her insistence that her husband should be allowed to remain in the villa..
A source said that the Acting President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, appeared to have consigned the Yar'Adua issue to history after his decision to approve fresh funds for treatment of the ailing president was turned down by Turai.
A source said that the first lady viewed the release of the funds with suspicion, as some members of her own inner cabinet were said to have expressed fears that removing Yar'Adua from the Villa could empower the National Assembly and the Executive Council of the Federation to declare him an invalid and permanently incapacitated.
While some members of the cabal were said to have agreed with Turai that allowing Yar'Adua to embark on another medical trip abroad could mean the end of his presidency, they, however, disagreed over his continued stay in the villa.
A source close to the administration informed that other top members of the cabal had now abandoned Turai, following her refusal to adhere to the suggestions by some northern leaders who had proposed a "soft landing" for the ailing president.
A source confirmed that some northern leaders had reached out to the acting president and other influential Nigerians and had come up with the solution that they believed would please all parties.
Their suggestion was to the effect that Yar'Adua should not be disgraced out of office but should be allowed to resign and leave the villa honourably, said a source at the weekend.
It was, however, gathered that Turai was afraid that things would no longer remain in her control if she moved her husband to Katsina.
It was learnt that Yar'Adua's most trusted friend, Alhaji Dahiru Mangal, was one of those displeased with Turai's decision and had subsequently decided to stay away for now.
Sources confirmed that the first lady had expressed the confidence that her husband could suddenly regained consciousness and that she remained hopeful that Jonathan would not move against him.
"She has seen that Jonathan is well disposed to her husband and is not orchestrating his removal and she wants to latch onto that and remain in the villa for as long as possible. She even believes that she could end the tenure in the villa with her husband, but interests in the North are already seeing this as harmful to the politics of the zone," a source stated on Sunday.
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