Rwandan Peacekeeper Kills Four Colleagues In Central African Republic

Rwandan soldier shot four colleagues

A Rwandan soldier serving with the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Central African Republic shot dead four Rwandan troops and wounded eight others on Saturday, before himself being shot dead, according to the Rwandan Defence Ministry. The incident occurred at around 5:45 a.m. (0445 GMT) at the Rwandan battalion's headquarters in the capital Bangui. "Investigations have immediately commenced to establish the motive behind this deplorable shooting," spokesman Brigadier General Joseph Nzabamwita said. "We suspect terrorism, without ruling out mental illness as the cause."

Unpaid Salaries: Strike Looms In 32 Tertiary Institutions

LAUTECH Main Gate

A major crisis may soon hit the nation’s education sector as no fewer than 32 state-owned tertiary institutions owe their academic and non-academic workers between four and 23 months’ salaries. The workers, many of who spoke with our correspondents on Thursday, complained over the non-payment of their salaries. The workers said they might embark on an indefinite strike if their entitlements were not paid within a short time.

The situation made members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, to demand for the payment of their 13 months’ salaries from the Oyo State Governor, Abiola Ajimobi, and his Osun State counterpart, Rauf Aregbesola. LAUTECH is owned by both Oyo and Osun states.

Corruption: NDDC Spends N1.3b On Charismas Parties

NDDC Headquarters, Port Harcourt

In pursuit of his anti-graft crusade, President Muhammadu Buhari may have to beam his searchlight on the activities of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC.

If the findings and documents obtained by Saturday Vanguard are anything to go by, the NDDC is panning out as a cesspool of corruption. The documents indicate that the agency, which is being supervised by the Presidency through the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, has brazenly ignored the provisions of the Public Procurement Act, PPA, in the award of contracts for projects and services, thereby allowing its cronies to smile home with huge amounts of public funds.

FOR THE RECORDS: We Must Go Back To Agriculture As Oil Revenue Shrinks – Buhari

Dr. Nwanze Kanayo, IFAD President

President Muhammadu Buhari has said Nigerians must stop paying mere lip service to agriculture, as crude oil and gas exports will no longer be sufficient as the country’s major revenue earner. The president gave the charge at an audience with Dr Kanayo Nwanze, the Nigerian born President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Friday. “It’s time to go back to the land. We must face the reality that the petroleum we had depended on for so long will no longer suffice. We campaigned heavily on agriculture, and we are ready to assist as many want to go into agricultural ventures,’’ he said.

US Yet To Give Buhari Oil Thieves’ List

President Muhammadu Buhari

The United States has yet to give the list of oil thieves to President Muhammadu Buhari. Sources at the US embassy said they were not aware of any exchange of documents between American officials and the President during the visit. If there was such a list, a source said, it was not given to Buhari during the visit. The source said, “Though President Buhari engaged in discussions on various issues with the US President Barack Obama, there was no exchange of documents between them.”

Two ISIS-Bound Nigerians Arrested In India

Nigerian nationals Sani Jamiliu (R) and Imran Kabeer (L) who were apprehended by BSF after they were spotted close to Indo-Pak border fence in Attari...yesterday.(Image source: The Nation)

Two young Nigerians suspected to be on their way to joining the Islamic State (ISIS)  terror gang were yesterday  arrested at the volatile  India-Pakistan border  after  scaling a barbed wire fence near the  border. Alert Border Security Force (BSF) troopers apprehended Imran Kabeer and Sani Jamiliu both from Kano and later handed them over to Punjab Police. The suspects aged around 24-25 told BSF officials they wanted to go to Pakistan and later to Iraq.

In Kenya's Running Heartlands, Doping Claims Threaten Livelihoods

Distance runners training in Iten, Kenya

The athletes who pound the dirt trails snaking through Kenya's lush Rift Valley region have spawned a local industry around their talent and forged a reputation as the world's finest long-distance runners. But explosive media claims of widespread doping in their ranks, including allegations against Kenya's Olympic medal winners, have cast a shadow over a sport that many in this impoverished region see as a ticket to wealth and stardom. Kenyan athletics chiefs have dismissed the doping claims as a "smear campaign", yet coaches and runners have warned that the east African nation needs to face up to the problem if it is to protect its rich running legacy and lucrative sponsorship deals.

Buhari Announces Plan For Nigeria To Produce Its Own Weapons

President Muhammadu Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari has instructed the Ministry of Defence to develop capability for the country to produce its own arms, according to a presidential statement. President Buhari described as "unacceptable" the country's "over-dependence on other countries for critical military equipment," the statement says.

"The Ministry of Defence is being tasked to draw up clear and measurable outlines for development of a modest Military Industrial Complex for Nigeria," President Buhari is quoted as saying.

Reuters reports President Muhammadu Buhari said on Friday Nigeria planned to ramp up the domestic production of weapons for its armed forces, in an effort to cut the country's dependence on imported arms.

Bag Containing US$1m Found On Plane In Angola

AFP

Police in Angola are looking for the owner of a bag containing US$1m (£650,000), which was left on a plane heading for Beijing, China. The pilot found the bag and handed the money over to the authorities. It is illegal in Angola to transport such a large sum of money across international borders.

Police spokesman Aristofanes dos Santos said an investigation has now started to find the origin of the money, which has been confiscated by the state.

Analysts say that anyone who does now claim the money will only be able to recover up to 1.5% of the total amount, while still having to face charges of illegally transporting money.

WEEKEND-VAGANZA!!! London Gets Ready For African Fashion Week

Edel Meremikwu is posting pictures on Instrgram as preparations get under way for the start of African Fashion Week in London tonight.

GO AFTER JUMP FOR ONE OF TOP DRAWS!

Vaccines Short As Meningitis Epidemic Erupts In West Africa

YouTube screen grab

International health officials are scrambling to find meningitis C vaccines as an outbreak of the child-killing disease threatens to balloon. The first large-scale outbreak of the C strain in decades has already killed 800 of 12,000 people infected this year in Nigeria and neighboring Niger. The World Health Organization says experts have been taken by surprise. Cases have been increasing since 2013.

Ogoniland Clean-Up: Buhari A Better Son Of The Niger Delta Than Jonathan – APC

Oil Pollution in Nigeria (Image source: The Guardian UK)

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State has hailed President Muhammadu Buhari for fast-tracking the clean-up of Ogoniland in accordance with the Report and recommendations of the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP). In a statement signed by the Chairman, Dr. Davies Ibiamu Ikanya, on Friday in Port Harcourt, Rivers APC said the clean-up of Ogoniland by President Buhari, though not from the region, has proved that he is a better son of Rivers State and the Niger Delta than immediate past president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan.

“The news of President Buhari not only directed the cleaning up of Ogoni land but also the fast-tracking of the process came to us as a great relief particularly considering the fact that former President Jonathan in demonstration of his hatred and disdain for Rivers State and her people ensured that this exercise did not see the light of the day throughout his regime,” Rivers APC said.

Buhari Begins Total Probe Of Jonathan’s Govt

FG hires international forensic audit firms to probe revenue accruals from 2010 - 2015

A total probe of the administration run by immediate past president, Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan is underway as the National Economic Council, NEC, Ad-hoc Committee on the Management of Excess Crude Account Proceeds and Accruals into the Federation Account, headed by the Governor of Edo State, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, is to hire two international forensic audit firms to probe revenue that accrued into the Federation Account and how it was spent under former Dr Goodluck Jonathan as President.

Mr. Oshiomhole told journalists at the end of the first meeting of the committee in Abuja, yesterday that the auditors would cover the period January 1, 2010 to June 1, 2015.

F1 Driver, Jenson Button And His Wife Jessica Feared Gassed In Burglary In St Tropez

Jenson Button and his wife Jessica were burgled while on holiday in a rented villa in St Tropez

Formula One driver Jenson Button and his wife Jessica have been burgled on holiday, with fears they may have been gassed as they slept. The pair were with friends in a villa in St Tropez on the French Riviera when thieves stole valuables including Mrs Button's engagement ring. The group were unharmed but have been left "unsurprisingly shaken by the events", a spokesman for Button said.

He said: "Jenson, Jessica and friends were on holiday in a rented villa in St Tropez when on Monday evening two men broke into the property whilst they all slept and stole a number of items of jewellery including, most upsettingly, Jessica's engagement ring.

Mozambique's Opposition Leader Predicts Violence

Afonso Dhlakama has led Renamo since 1979

Long-time leader of Mozambique's opposition Renamo party Afonso Dhlakama has said "people will take power by force" if his party is not allowed to govern in some of the country's provinces.

Mr Dhlakama told the BBC that "there will be violence if Renamo doesn't get power this year, people cannot wait any longer".

The opposition leader is basing his claim on the fact that in last year's presidential election his party got a majority of votes in six of the 11 provinces.

But his critics say that the election was a national and not a regional poll.