Nigerian strikes over fuel price rises set to continue
The statement from the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress came as confusion remained over whether a threatened shutdown of oil production will occur in Africa’s top oil exporter.
A major oil workers’ union had promised to stop production at midnight on Saturday in solidarity with the demonstrations, jeopardising the country’s production of 2.4 million barrels of oil a day.
During negotiations on Saturday between the unions and government, organisers asked the government to restore an estimated $8 billion (€6.3bn) a year in fuel subsidies that keep petrol prices low in Africa’s most populous nation, the statement said. The government countered by promising to lower prices slightly, the unions said.
The talks broke down just before midnight, and the unions said demonstrations against the government’s decision would resume today.
The strike began on January 9, paralysing the nation of more than 160 million people. The root cause remains petrol prices: President Jonathan’s government abandoned subsidies that kept oil prices low on January 1, causing prices to spike from $1.70 per gallon to at least $3.50 per gallon. The costs of food and transportation also doubled in a nation where most people live on less than $2 a day.
The mood remains tense in a nation already uneasy over a wave of sectarian attacks by a radical Islamist sect that have killed at least 67 people.
The unions addressed that concern in their statement, saying: “We are ... not campaigning for ‘regime change.’”
However, tension could be felt at an Armed Services Remembrance Ceremony held yesterday in Nigeria’s capital Abuja. The programme, aired live on the state-run Nigerian Television Authority, showed a somber Jonathan attending.
