Yar’Adua’s Okay, Vice President Assures Nigerians – Thisday
November 28, 2009 by tim
Vice President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday assured Nigerians that President Umar Yar’Adua who is currently receiving treatment at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia for a heart condition, is doing fine and responding well to treatment.
In a letter from the president’s chief physician, Dr Salisu Banye, presidential spokesman, Segun Adeniyi, Thursday disclosed that Yar’Adua had been hospitalised for acute pericarditis, an inflammation of the membrane surrounding the heart which can restrict normal beating of the heart.
Jonathan who said he had been in touch with the president, since he left the country on Monday expressed Yar’Adua’s appreciation to Nigerians in particular and the Muslim community in general for their consistent prayers for his wellbeing.
Receiving a Muslim delegation which visited him at his Akinola Aguda residence, State House Abuja, as part of the traditional Sallah homage usually paid to the president, Jonathan said those he described as “mischievous characters” have been spreading false rumours about the health of the president.
Jonathan said: “This morning, I personally conveyed Mr. President’s personal greetings. We spoke yesterday and even this morning. After this, I will even speak with him again. He asked me to convey his personal greetings to all Nigerians.
“There are some rumours about some stories, but let me assure Nigerians that the president is okay. We spoke before he left this country and we have been speaking ever since.
