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The speaker of Nigeria’s House of Representatives, Patricia Etteh, has resigned after weeks of pressure. An inquiry found her guilty of breaking house rules in awarding contracts worth $5m to refurbish houses and buy cars.

But she had repeatedly refused to step aside and allow a temporary speaker to chair a debate into the findings.

Parliamentary business, including a debate on Nigeria’s budget, has been held up for weeks as a result of the affair that has gripped the nation.

The affair has become a major embarrassment for President Umaru Yar’Adua who promised zero tolerance on corruption but failed to intervene, despite increasingly angry protests.

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Militants from Nigeria’s oil-rich Delta have called off a voluntary ceasefire, promising a fresh campaign of violence and kidnappings of oil workers.In a statement emailed to reporters on Sunday, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta said attacks would recommence from midnight.

Mend announced a voluntary truce after the May inauguration of President Umaru Yar’Adua, but says talks have failed.

Previous attacks on oil installations have slashed ouput of Nigerian crude.

Mend’s main demand is for the Delta region to control its oil resources and pay tax to the federal government but the line between ideological struggle and crime is blurred.

The Mend statement said: ” There will be no forewarning of these attacks but a statement will follow soon after.”

source BBC.CO.UK