Abuja — The Action Congress (AC) has expressed concern over the health of President Umaru Yar'Adua, after he again travelled to Saudi Arabia on medical grounds on Monday.

In a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party called on its members as well as all Nigerians to pray fervently for the Presdent's good health so he can face the tough task of governance.

But it renewed the call on the presidency to come clean on the state of health of the President, to stem the kind of rumour making the rounds, and which has now been published by a national newspaper, that the President's frail health led the Senate and the House of Representatives to contrive their ongoing face-off over the venue for their joint sitting for the President's presentation of the 2010 budget.

"What started as a rumour last week - and which we failed to believe - has now been elevated to the level of a news story in a national newspaper, that the two chambers of the National Assembly faked their face-off so the President, whose health is allegedly deteriorating, would not have to present the 2010 appropriation bill in person.

"This very serious allegation has grave implications for our country, and we demand immediate clarification from both the presidency and the leadership of the National Assembly. If indeed this impasse is the result of a collusion between the executive and the legislature, then there is no hope for this country," AC said.

The party said it is unthinkable that the leadership of the National Assembly will stoop so low as to instigate a ruse impasse just to sell a dummy to the Nigerian public and the entire world.

"The questions on the lips of Nigerians are: If indeed it is true that the impasse is a ruse, what motivated the leadership of the assembly to be a part of this monumental act of deceit? Did money change hands, and if so how much? Has governance now become a game of lies?" it queried.The party said if the President cannot present the budget to the National Assembly due to his state of health, Nigerians must be fully briefed, in the spirit of transparency. AC said the reason it had always insisted on a full disclosure on the President's health is to prevent this kind of ugly rumour. "We have said that the President is a human being who can fall ill at any time, and that his ill-health cannot be used against him. But since the President is the father of the nation, we - his children - must be fully kept abreast on his state of health. Failure to do that will fuel rumours, as we have now seen," the party said.