•Yar’Adua Photo: Sun News Publishing

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Presidential standard bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Alhaji Umar Yar’Adua on Wednesday dispelled rumours of his purported death, insisting that he was not only alive but also remained in the presidential race.

Yar’Adua spoke separately on the British Broadcasting Service and in a live telephone conversation with President Olusegun Obasanjo at the PDP rally in Abeokuta.

The Katsina State Governor told the Hausa service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), that he was in Germany to treat a severe dose of catarrh, which had made breathing difficult for him. The sudden ailment, he added, was caused by his recent campaign trips across the country.

"I’m alive. I’m responding to treatment. I have a severe dose of catarrh which has made it difficult for me to breathe. It is caused by strenuous campaign across the country," he said. Waxing religious, Yar’Adua added: "As a Muslim, death is inevitable, sickness is a different kettle of fish. Insha Allah, I shall return to Nigeria on Sunday to carry on with the presidential campaign."

"I am alright. I am very fine. I am very much alive," Yar’Adua told the President in a phone call transmitted live to thousands of PDP supporters at the M.K.O Abiola stadium, Abeokuta.
Obasanjo, who described the rumour mongers as satanic, assured the crowd that Yar’Adua only had an infection which did not require surgery, saying the PDP standard bearer would soon return home.
He also lambasted those alleging that he had known all along that Yar’Adua would not last a year in office.
"They are wicked. Anybody saying that is a child of satan. How can anybody say somebody will die on a particular day? They even said that I was dead in far away Ghana. They are wicked," Obasanjo said.
Chairman of the PDP, Senator Ahmadu Ali also explained that Yar’Adua was prevailed upon to go for medical check up after exhibiting symptoms of catarrh, adding that the presidential candidate was alive and responding to treatment.

The Presidency has equally dismissed fears over Yar’Adua’s death, describing such rumours as "wicked and malicious."
Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Mallam Uba Sani, told newsmen in Abuja that those who fabricated and spread Yar’Adua’s purported death were politicians who saw the Katsina State governor’s candidacy as a threat.

His words: "There is no iota of truth in the rumour. It is the handiwork of Yar’Adua’s political opponents who latched on to his health condition and tried to score cheap political gains."
Sani also described as false insinuations that Yar’Adua might quit the presidential race, saying neither the candidate nor his party was contemplating such a move.

In its own reaction, the PDP said Yar’Adua’s state of health was stable.
National Secretary of the party, Chief Ojo Maduekwe told a news conference in Abuja that President Obasanjo had a lively conversation with Yar’Adua earlier on Wednesday, adding that Nigerians had nothing to worry about.

Maduekwe confirmed that the party was not unaware of its presidential candidate’s medical condition even before he emerged as the party’s standard bearer.
"You will recall that the president had said that he is aware that Yar’Adua was sick but everything is now over. He even said they play squash together," said Maduekwe, adding that it does not mean that "if somebody is cured of malaria he can never have malaria again."
Asked whether flying the PDP presidential candidate abroad for medical treatment was not a failing of the PDP-led government, Maduekwe said: "We will be the first to admit that our best efforts to improve all the sectors of the nation are not yet complete. They are not what they ought to be but we will get there."

The Yar’Adua/Goodluck Campaign Organisation in its reaction, assured that Yar’Adua was alive and would soon return to the country to continue with the campaign.

The statement partly reads:
"On Monday, March 5 Governor Yar’Adua, as part of his routine medical check-up, reported to his doctors at a private clinic, where regular tests were conducted. Some of the results indicated that that the candidate was under stress and would require to rest. He was accordingly recalled yesterday (Tuesday) morning by the clinic and advised to rest.

Following this medical report, his personal physicians who had complained that the grueling presidential campaign had obstructed the candidate’s medical schedule, saw an opportunity to let the candidate rest. They seized it, insisting that Yar’Adua should not only suspend the campaign for a few days, but must travel abroad for long overdue specialist medical check-up.

After consultation with President Olusegun Obasanjo and the PDP leadership, Governor Yar’Adua accepted the advice of his doctors to travel abroad for rest and an overdue medical check-up. He left for Germany last night. It is, therefore, categorically untrue that he collapsed and had to be rushed to a private hospital for medical attention."
"We appreciate the concerns shown by Nigerians and assure them that our presidential candidate will be back shortly to continue with his campaign," the organization said in a statement issued by Yar’Adua’s spokesman, Ndu Ughamadu.

Information Minister, Mr Frank Nweke Jr also pooh-poohed rumours of Yar’Adua’s death. "I am happy to tell you that the rumours are unfounded and he will soon be back," Nweke told reporters.
Also on Wednesday, deputy governor of Katsina State Alhaji Abudullahi Garba Aminchi, assured the people of the state that Yar’Adua was alive responding to treatment.
Meanwhile, get well messages have been pouring in torrents for the PDP presidential candidate, even from opposition parties.

The Action Congress, (AC), presidential candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), General Muhammadu Buhari, as well as members of other political parties have wished Yar’Adua a speedy recovery.
The Action Congress, in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said it learnt with shock and dismay that Yar’Adua collapsed in Abuja and was subsequently evacuated to Germany in an air ambulance.

"We wish him a speedy recovery so that he can rejoin us on the campaign train and in the project of nation building," the statement said.
Also , in a three paragraph letter addressed to Governor Yar’Adua and personally signed by General Buhari, the ANPP standard bearer said it was with a sense of trepidation and empathy that he learnt of his sickness.

Buhari stated that though all efforts to reach Yar’Adua failed, he took solace in the fact that the PDP candidate, was receiving adequate medical attention.
"I wish you God’s guidance, good health and protection. Get well soon," Buhari told his competitor.
Also reacting, a member of the House of Representatives, Hon Aminu Safana described as malicious and wicked, the peddlers of the rumour that Governor Yar’Adua was dead.
"It is a wicked rumour, a malicious one and the figment of the imagination of those who wanted Governor Yar’Adua dead," he said.

Safana said that the PDP presidential candidate was only in Germany for routine medical check up, adding that there was nothing wrong or strange in the trip to Germany .
Presidential candidate of the Better Nigeria Peoples Party (BNPP), Dr. Godswill Nnaji said that nobody should celebrate the death of a fellow human being.

While wishing Governor Yar’Adua quick recovery, he said that the country needs the service of the PDP presidential candidate, who he noted had demonstrated integrity, transparency and accountability in the management of the resources of his state before aspiring to rule the nation.
He described him as a great asset to the country, whose contribution was needed by the nation in her developmental efforts.