Nigeria's president breaks silence to quash death rumours

Umaru Yar'Adua, 58, has been absent since going to Saudi Arabia for heart treatment in November, creating what opposition politicians and activists describe as a dangerous power vacuum in Africa's most populous country.

But a rally due to be led by Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka in Abuja, the Nigerian capital today, has apparently brought the situation to a head, forcing the president to make his first public comments since being hospitalised.

Speaking by telephone to the BBC in an interview organised by the president's office, Yar'Adua said he was making a good recovery. "At the moment I am undergoing treatment, and I'm getting better from the treatment," he said. "I hope that very soon there will be tremendous progress, which will allow me to get back home.

"I wish, at this stage, to thank all Nigerians for their prayers for my good health, and for their prayers for the nation."

He also wished the Nigerian national football team success in the Africa Nations Cup in Angola but, sounding weak, gave no indication of when he might return.