Nigerian President Mum on 2011 Candidacy

ABUJA, Nigeria

Nigeria’s President will not declare whether or not he will run in election in 2011 because such an announcement would disrupt governance, a local television station reported Sunday.

In a live chat on the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA), President Jonathan said the country’s political environment would heat up if he announced his position at this moment.

Jonathan, a Christian from Southern Nigeria, became President in May following the death of President Umaru Yar’Adua, who hailed from the Muslim North. His candidacy would disrupt an unwritten ruling party plan to rotate the presidency between the South and the North. [PE]

MOGADISHU, Somalia

Government solders protesting non payment stormed Somalia's presidential palace last Saturday, Garowe news agency reported on it website.

Unconfirmed sources said the armed soldiers barricaded the front entrance to Villa Somalia, holding interim President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed and 21 lawmakers hostage inside.

Thousands of Somali troops are said not to have received their salaries for months, and some are thought to have quit in a huff to join the militant rebel group, Al Shabaab. [PE]

Pretoria, South Africa

Cameroon’s 2-1 loss to Denmark has made the West African team the first to be eliminated from the World Cup, weakening Africa’s hope of shining at this year’s World Cup.

The country’s exit is widely expected to be followed by that of South Africa and Nigeria. Algeria is hanging by a thread, while Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire have reasonable chances of making it to the second round of the first World Cup staged in Africa. [PE]