ABUJA, Nigeria — Nigerian President Umaru Yar’ Adua flew home to Abuja early Wednesday after three months in a Saudi hospital — but his secretive return raised concerns about a deepening power struggle in the ruling party as well as his long-term health.
Two weeks ago, Yar’Adua’s deputy, Goodluck Jonathan, was appointed acting president by the legislature in a move many called unconstitutional.
Yar’Adua’s return came one day after Jonathan sent a series of official appointments to the Senate.
The Yar’Adua faction tried to reassert control Wednesday: A statement by presidential spokesman Olusegun Adeniyi described Jonathan as “vice president,” not “acting president.”
“After being discharged by the team of medical experts overseeing his treatment in Saudi Arabia, President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua returned to the presidential villa . . . early this morning,” Adeniyi said. “While the president completes his recuperation, Vice President Jonathan will continue to oversee the affairs of state.”
Yar’Adua, 58, was flown to Jidda in November suffering inflammation of the lining around his heart. He is known to also have kidney problems.
His election and inauguration in 2007 marked the first peaceful transition of power in Africa’s most populous nation since it gained independence half a century ago.
As his absence dragged on, the Save Nigeria Group, an organization of prominent Nigerians including Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka, called for his impeachment.
The Cabinet is deeply divided between Yar’Adua’s supporters who bitterly opposed the move to appoint Jonathan, 52, as acting president, and those who supported the transfer of power.
