Video: Nigeria signs 15 MOU’s at FOCAC 2018

===President Muhammadu Buhari, who led Nigeria’s delegation to the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation summit, has held bilateral talks with his Chinese counterpart to deepen Nigeria-China relations and signed 15 new Memoranda of Understanding and agreements.

President Buhari, at the FOCAC Round Table meeting, attended by African leaders and Chinese President Xi Jinping, said China’s support to Nigeria under FOCAC also impressively addressed significant challenges in the areas of power, transport, agriculture and humanitarian assistance in the last three years.

The President said Nigeria’s partnership with China, through the FOCAC, had resulted in the execution of vital infrastructure projects valued at over 5billion dollars across the country.

====The National Centre for Genetic Resources and Biotechnology of the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology has released 19 new high-yield crop varieties to enhance agricultural production in Nigeria.

The Centre said an indigenous chicken breed for the dual purpose of egg and meat was also approved for registration and release.

The National Variety Release Committee had approved release of the chicken breed and the 19 crop varieties out of the 21 submitted for consideration at its 26th meeting held in Ibadan, Southwest Nigeria.

====Democratic Republic of Congo’s top court has definitively excluded opposition leader, Jean-Pierre Bemba from December’s presidential election because of a witness tampering conviction at the International Criminal Court.

Bemba, who was tipped as one of the leading candidates to replace outgoing President Joseph Kabila, spent a decade in prison in The Hague.

The popular former vice president’s war crimes convictions for murders and rape committed by his militia in Central African Republic were, however, quashed in May.

=====Oil prices have risen sharply after the evacuation of two Gulf of Mexico oil platforms in preparation for a hurricane, with U.S. light crude rising $1.6 dollars a barrel from Friday’s close to a peak of $71.40 dollars, its highest since mid-July.

Benchmark Brent crude was up 1.10 dollars at $79.25 dollars a barrel, having earlier reached a high of 79.72 dollars, its strongest since May.

Global oil markets have tightened over the last month, with investors anticipating less supply from Iran as U.S. sanctions take their toll pushing up Brent prices by more than 10 per cent since the middle of August.