THE PARLIAMENT in Nigeria has voted to make vice-president Goodluck Jonathan acting head of state until President Umaru Yar’Adua returns to the country. Mr Yar’Adua has not been seen since November 23rd, when he flew to Saudi Arabia to receive treatment for a heart condition.
The move ends weeks of uncertainty in Africa’s most populous country, during which religious clashes in the north and a renewed outbreak of violence in the oil-rich Niger delta have raised concerns about the stability of the West African country.
It will also allow new spending plans, under the country’s 2010 budget, to be signed into law in Mr Yar’Adua’s absence.
However, the move pushes Nigeria into unchartered territory, as the country’s constitution only allows for powers to be transferred after the president has made a written declaration that he is on holiday or unable to carry out his duties.
It could also lead to increased tension between members of the ruling People’s Democratic Party, which has a tradition of alternating power between the north of the country and the south. Mr Yar’Adua is a northerner while Mr Jonathan is from the south.
In a speech to the country’s upper house, senate president David Mark said that parliament had little choice “when faced with a situation that was not contemplated by the constitution”.
According to the motion, “the vice president . . . shall henceforth discharge the functions of the office of the president, commander- in-chief of the armed forces of the federation, as acting president”.
The vote would allow Mr Yar’Adua (58) to resume the presidency if he returns to the country and is healthy enough to lead again. However, some question whether the president, who has long suffered from kidney ailments, will ever be able to resume his duties.
Mr Jonathan (53), a former governor of the oil-producing Bayelsa state, has already been forced to send troops to the north of the country, where violence among Muslims and Christians in the central city of Gos claimed more than 300 lives last month.
Meanwhile, militants in the oil-producing Niger delta resumed attacks on January 30th. This ended an unconditional ceasefire which had been announced by Mr Yar’Adua last year.
Mr Yar’Adua’s failure to instruct parliament and temporarily hand over power has threatened to create a power vacuum in Africa’s top oil producer.
Nigeria has a history of coups and military dictatorships and the military has been forced to declare that it is not planning a takeover of power. When President Yar’Adua was elected in May 2007, it was the first time that power passed between two civilians since Nigeria gained independence from Britain in 1960.