The nationwide strike that began in Nigeria on Monday over increased fuel prices was suspended on Friday.
Adams Oshiomhole — president of the central labour organisation, the Nigeria Labour Congress — said the suspension marks the end of the first stage of the strike, planned to be held in stages until the government reverses the September increase in prices of petroleum products.
He said the suspension will also give time to the 33-man committee set up by the Nigerian government on Monday to find ways of cushioning the adverse effects of the price increases on Nigerians.
Oshiomhole said that if at the end of two weeks, the committee and the government have not brought about a price reversal, labour leaders will meet again to decide when to resume the strike.
The strike suspended at the end of its fourth day crippled Nigeria’s economy as most businesses were shut, except the upstream sector of the petroleum industry from which Nigeria exports 2,68-million barrels of crude oil daily.
It also recorded casualties, including a 12-year-old boy shot dead by police in Kaduna in Nigeria’s north.
About 70 people suffered injuries at the hands of security operatives who used tear gas and batons to disperse protesters during the strike.
At least seven labour leaders were also arrested during the strike.
Oshiomhole, a member of the 33-man committee set up by the government, withdrew from the committee on Tuesday because the government had not given it a mandate to reverse the price increases, the main focus of the strike. — Sapa-DPA