Parliament empowered Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday to take over for the ill president of oil-rich Nigeria, whose absence has stoked unrest in Africa's most populous country.
Both the House of Representatives and the Senate passed measures calling on Jonathan to act as president and commander in chief until President Umaru Yar'Adua returns from Saudi Arabia, where he has been receiving medical treatment for a heart condition since November.
Yar'Adua's absence has caused a ceasefire with militants in the oil-rich delta to unravel and left no one formally in charge of the nation of 150 million, which has a long history of coups and military dictatorships. The latest crisis has drawn international attention, with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and European leaders calling on the nation to follow its constitution.
Newspapers began worrying about possible coup scenarios as Yar'Adua's absence grew longer. But military leaders said several weeks ago they had no ambitions to take power and would respect the constitution.
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