Former Minority Leader of the Senate, Senator Lawali Shuaibu, has urged President Umaru Yar'adua to 'have pity' on Nigerians and step down to allow Vice President Goodluck Jonathan take over the reins of power.

Speaking to Daily Trust in Abuja yesterday, Senator Shuaibu said the business of governing Nigeria requires some level of physical fitness which the President lacks at the moment.

He regretted that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) which has the constitutional authority to raise the issue of the President's illness will not have the guts to say he is incapacitated because they fear it will affect their jobs.

"In my view it is better for him to step down and look after his health, and allow his vice to get on the seat and continue with the business of governing this country.

"We have a constitution which is very specific about the incapacitation of the President. With regard to President Yar'adua, it has been publicly stated, in fact even by his doctor that he is really sick. According to what we were told, he is suffering from pericarditis, which is the inflammation of the pericardium of his heart.

"We went further to find out what is really going on; to what extent can that kind of sickness allow somebody to be effective particularly in governance, and we were told that it is serious. If that is the case, I think Yar'adua has to be very fair to Nigerians; we cannot sit down and wait. Nigeria is going through serious hard times.

Senator Shuaibu who was also the gubernatorial candidate of the Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) in Zamfara State in 2007 described Nigeria as a complex entity which "even those who are medically fit require extra hours to effectively contain the issues at stake."

"What it takes to be a president comprises so many things but the most fundamental is physical fitness. In a complex society like Nigeria you need to be physically fit. His predecessor (Olusegun Obasanjo) was medically fit. He was always going to play squash and he was seen everywhere," Senator Lawali said.

He also lamented that the Federal Executive Council which has the constitutional authority to raise the issue of the President's sickness and raise a medical committee, including his personal physician to come up with an official statement is shying away from its responsibility.

"The Federal Executive Council is constituted by the president himself and no member can raise his finger and say the president is not medically fit. People don't do things when they think it will affect their job. They want to sit tight on the job so none of the members of the FEC can raise the issue," he said.