Labour unions in Nigeria on Saturday called for a national strike from next week to protest increase in the pump price of petrol from N87 per litre to N145 per litre.
“If by midnight on Tuesday next week the government fails to reverse the price of petrol to 86.50 naira per litre, we will have no other option than to order workers to begin an indefinite strike from Wednesday,” Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) general secretary Peter Ozo-Eson told AFP.
He said the decision was taken after a meeting of both the NLC and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) — the two umbrella organisations for Nigerian workers.
“We have directed our affiliates and civil society allies to mobilise their members for the impending showdown with government over this anti-people policy,” he said.
Ozo-Esson said the proposed strike was also to force government to reverse a recent hike in the electricity tariff in the energy-starved country which generates just around 4,000 megawatts for a population of more than 170 million people.
The unions said businesses including banks, airports, seaports, markets and government offices would be shut during the strike. Nigeria raised the price of petrol to 145 naira ($0.73) per litre on Wednesday after months of fuel shortages caused by a foreign exchange shortage which left Africa’s biggest economy running on fumes. For months motorists have been waiting for petrol in queues kilometres long, while others were forced to buy fuel on the black market, sometimes for triple the previous official price of 86.50 naira.