Early Thursday, the president’s office confirmed media reports that the president, who had been sick and virtually incommunicado for several months, had died late the previous night.
"President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua is dead. He passed away on Wednesday night in the Presidential Villa,
The president of Africa’s most populous nation died after more than five months battling a heart ailment, a condition that in November took him to
There he stayed for more than three months, amid growing concern about the power vaccum at the top until parliament finally handed power to his deputy, Jonathan.
Now Jonathan, under the terms of the constitution, will be sworn in as the new president.
In a statement, the new president declared seven days of mourning and expressed shock at the death of his predecessor.
"
"As individuals and as a nation we prayed for the recovery of Mr President. But we take solace in the fact that the Almighty is the giver and taker of all life," Jonathan said.
As a mark of respect, Jonathan cancelled all official engagements, including a three-day visit to southern Rivers State in oil-rich Niger Delta, which he had been due to begin on Thursday.
Yar’Adua will be buried in his northern
United States President Barack Obama expressed sadness at the death of Yar’Adua, praising him as a man with a passionate belief in his nation’s future in a statement issued Wednesday.
"Tonight, we remember and honor President Yar’Adua’s profound personal decency and integrity, his deep commitment to public service, and his passionate belief in the vast potential and bright future of Nigeria’s 150 million people," he said.
"He was committed to creating lasting peace and prosperity within
In neighboring
"With the loss of this great statesman…
Since his return to
But there was constant tension between his supporters and those of Acting President Jonathan.
On March 17, Jonathan sacked the entire Yar’Adua-formed cabinet, and last month swore in his own team with less than half of its members drawn from the old government.
With Yar’Adua’s death, Jonathan automatically becomes head of state of one of the world’s leading oil producers, and will complete his predecessor’s term of office, which expires in May 2011.
The acting president has already promised free and fair elections, but has said little about his own political plans.
In an agreement designed to defuse the political and religious rivalries between the north and south, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has an arrangement by which Christians and Muslims alternate in the top job.
Under this agreement, the leadership was reserved for a northern Muslim for eight years from 2007: Goodluck Jonathan is a southern Christian.
Yar’Adua’s death comes at a difficult time for
Muslim-Christian violence erupted in central
Yar’Adua,
But his failing health and, arguably, a lack of charisma, prevented him from enacting his reform agenda.
