President "Sound And Fit" In Saudi Hospital

Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua is "sound and fit" in hospital in Saudi Arabia, but it is unclear when he will be able to return home, Nigeria's ambassador said on Friday. The president has been absent from Nigeria for more than a month receiving treatment for a heart condition in Saudi Arabia and there have been few updates on his health. "He is recuperating in a royal suite attached to the hospital for VIPs. He is sound and fit, he sits, eats and walks very well. He is recuperating to have enough rest before he goes back to the office," said Abdullah Aminchi, Nigeria's ambassador to Saudi Arabia. Asked when the president might return to Nigeria, Aminchi said: "It is the doctors who will say when." The Nigerian government is facing pressure from senior lawyers, political analysts and opposition party officials to provide concrete evidence that Yar'Adua is fit enough to govern Africa's most populous country. Vice President Goodluck Jonathan has been presiding over cabinet meetings but executive powers have not officially been transferred to him, leading the Nigerian Bar Association and a prominent human rights lawyer to challenge the legality of decisions made in Yar'Adua's absence. A federal court in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, is scheduled on Thursday to hear three separate lawsuits against the government. They accuse the president of breaching the constitution by staying in power after weeks in hospital. The lower house of parliament is expected to address Yar'Adua's prolonged absence on Tuesday. The 58-year-old president, who had already suffered from a kidney ailment, was flown to a clinic in Jeddah on November 23 after complaining of chest pains and has been diagnosed with acute pericarditis, an inflammation of the membrane around the heart that restricts its action. The lack of information on his condition has fuelled speculation in the Nigerian media about the gravity of his illness, with some reports saying he is largely incapable of communicating. A government minister and state governor said earlier this week that the president had called the vice president and heads of parliament. But what was discussed has not been made public. Critics say government assurances of Yar'Adua's health are no longer enough and demand more disclosure, including visual evidence, of the president's condition.