The president of Sao Tome, a tiny African archipelago that could become a major oil producer, has accepted the resignation of his prime minister, the presidency was reported by dpa as saying on Friday. Damiao Vaz d'Almeida, appointed in September 2004 after his predecessor was sacked for alleged corruption, is the sixth head of government to step down or be fired since President Fradique de Menezes took office in 2001. The Portuguese news agency Lusa said d'Almeida, who is from Sao Tome's main MLSTP party, had offered to step down on Thursday amid a long civil service strike because he lacked "institutional support" from the president, dpa reported. A statement issued by the presidency said Menezes had asked the MLSTP to propose a new prime minister. Menezes belongs to the rival, minority MDFM party. The latest showdown between the president and prime minister occurred just days after Sao Tome and Nigeria awarded five offshore oil exploration blocks after a turbulent five-month delay plagued by accusations of corruption, reported dpa. The oil blocks are in the deep waters of the Gulf of Guinea, an exploration hotspot since a series of huge oil finds in the past decade. --More 0040 Sao Tome president accepts premier's resignation SAO TOME Nigeria and Sao Tome set up a joint development authority in 2000 to administer the offshore area, ending a protracted maritime border dispute. Since then, the poor two-island country of 170,000 people, has been rocked by coup attempts and allegations of graft as it prepares to become the latest African oil state. Menezes, who survived a coup attempt in 2003, sacked his petroleum adviser earlier in May, but rejected Natural Resources Minister Arlindo Carvalho's offer to resign shortly afterwards. Carvalho had said it had become impossible to work in a climate of allegations of irregularities in the oil talks. The United States hopes to import a quarter of its oil from the Gulf of Guinea region in a decade, up from 14 percent now. -- SP 2226 Local Time 1926 GMT
