Umaru Yar'Adua is dead

Late President Umaru Yar'Adua

Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua, long plagued by poor health, has died at age 58, his spokesman said.

Yar'Adua died at 9 p.m. (2000 GMT) Wednesday at the Aso Rock presidential villa, presidential spokesman Olusegun Adeniyi told The Associated Press. Adeniyi, his voice cracking, said Yar'Adua's wife Turai was at his side when he died. Adeniyi did not give a cause of death.

Yar'Adua, a Muslim, will be buried Thursday, Adeniyi said.

Yar'Adua went to a Saudi Arabian hospital on Nov. 24 to receive treatment for what officials described as a severe case of pericarditis, an inflammation of the sac surrounding the heart that can cause a fatal complication. He failed to formally transfer his powers to Vice President Goodluck Jonathan, sparking a constitutional crisis in Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation with 150 million people.