Nigerian president's health questioned

ABUJA, Nigeria, Jan. 7 (UPI) -- The leading opposition party in Nigeria says it wants proof the country's ailing president's health is improving.

Garba Shehu, a spokesman for Action Congress leader and former Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar, said President Umaru Yar Adua's refusal to appear in public is hurting the country's well-being, Radio France Internationale reported Thursday.

"The story is that he is getting better. So why can't he present himself before the television, or record a message?" Shehu said. "We have just come through the New Year and traditionally the head of state would do a national radio address to the citizens."

Yar Adua has been out of the public eye since he went to Saudi Arabia Nov. 23 for medical treatment, RFI said.

The Action Congress has called for a date-stamped video recording of Yar Adua either sitting or standing in his hospital room.

The request for proof about the president's medical condition was prompted by last week's supplemental budget that Yar Adua reportedly approved and signed, the French broadcaster said. Action Congress said it was concerned that there was no proof Yar Adua was the one who actually signed the document.